By Hader Glang
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines
The Philippines' one time largest Moro rebel group has issued a statement threatening to halt any further decommissioning of its arms if a watered-down version of a law that seals peace with the government in the Muslim south is passed.
In an editorial posted on its official website, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front said "For sure, the MILF will reject it outright, and worse the various aspects of the normalization process including decommissioning of its weapons (and combatants) will come to a halt."
"Likewise, we do not know if the various mechanisms including the international bodies [that have been overseeing the peace process] will continue to stay," it added.
In June, Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. - the son of Ferdinand Marcos, who ruled the Philippines for 21 years - rejected the original bill, saying it was unconstitutional, and will “lead us to perdition.”
He presented a substitute bill to Congress in August, of which around 80 percent had been amended by his committee, with 115 “major and minor” changes.
The bill is now undergoing plenary deliberations both in the Senate and House of Representatives.
Decommissioning is among the raft of measures agreed upon in the Comprehensive Agreement of the Bangsamoro -- signed by the MILF and government on March 27, 2014 -- which brings to a close 17 years of negotiations and ends a decades-old armed conflict on Mindanao island, while granting Muslim areas greater political autonomy.
In June, the MILF turned over the first batch of its weapons in a bid to prove its commitment to peace.
The turnover was witnessed by an independent body - led by Ambassador Haydar Berk from Turkey, who is overseeing the decommissioning - and four local experts.
Under the agreement, there are four phases of the decommissioning process, the first of which was a ceremonial turnover concluded last June.
The second phase, which involves the decommissioning of 30 percent of MILF firearms, will happen after the ratification of the BBL.
Another 35 percent will be turned over the Bangsamoro government have been established, while the remaining 35 percent will be decommissioned once the exit agreement is signed.
Three senators on Friday warned the MILF against threatening Congress on what the armed group will do once it fails to get the BBL passed in the form it prefers.
“Threatening Congress might be counter-productive and they stand to lose friendly forces who also want peace in Mindanao,” GMA News Online quoted Senator Juan Edgardo Angara a saying said in a text message.
Senator Ralph Recto said threats from the MILF will not help their case in anyway.
“My advice to them: Do not threaten Congress,” Recto was quoted as saying.
Marcos Jr. has said it will take up to six weeks for the Senate to wrap up its plenary discussions on the substitute bill, three weeks for interpellation and another three weeks for amendments.
In the process, changes, revisions, or deletions in the bill will be proposed as committee amendments by the Committee on Local Government, through Marcos being its chairman, and any senator as individual amendments.
In Its editorial the MILF said that it is not about how many provisions of the original BBL are deleted, substituted or amended.
"Just one issue, for instance, the aspect of natural resources, can make the BBL diluted and would force the MILF to reject it."
"Both the House and the Senate versions of the BBL have seriously unnerved or mutilated the right leg and amputated the left leg, so much so that if it is not restored would render the Bangsamoro entity inutile," it added.
"But one thing sure is that as long the Moro Problem remains unresolved this country will never develop and progress. More seriously, depriving of the Moros their rightful place in this country -- and to be at par with the rest of the inhabitants --- is not a sure antidote to secession."
