BBL: Is it all about money?

People are glad to hear that some senators allied with the administration seem to be singing a different tune, at least as far as the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) is concerned. The President’s insistence on having the BBL passed sooner than soon does not sit well with majority of Filipinos, especially now that questionable provisions have come under close scrutiny following the killing of 44 PNP Special Action Force troops who were sent to arrest terrorists.

Aside from the creation of a separate military force, a major question is the reported P75 billion – a hell of a lot of money – that would be poured into the proposed Bangsamoro government. Professor Miriam Ferrer, who chairs the government peace panel (and has been under fire due to perceptions that she and fellow negotiator/peace adviser Ging Deles are “lawyering” for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front) disputes the reported amount, yet she has not been forthcoming either on how much the territory would get from government.

Sources say that under the current and thoroughly-questioned draft of the BBL, the Bangsamoro stands to receive an annual block grant from government to be increased yearly for 10 years; will receive its share in the Internal Revenue Allotment much like other local government units; will be entitled to several billions as start-up or special development fund; and will also be allowed to generate its own revenues from other sources.

Even more disturbing is that the block grant “guaranteed at P27 billion in 2016 alone” which will come from government and, therefore, from the pocket of Filipino taxpayers – will be automatically appropriated without any scrutiny from Congress. As a critic of BBL told us, it would be the height of folly to give the MILF all that money without any accountability especially because the proposed BBL will have its own Commission on Audit – in stark violation of the Constitution that says there should only be one audit body for the whole country. Besides, the block amount for the BBL will also increase as government tax collections increase – and what assurance do we have that the money will not be used by the MILF to buy guns that will be used against our soldiers, the same critic pointed out.

Lest we forget, the government also funneled billions to ARMM with Moro National Liberation Front chief Nur Misuari as governor, who was accused of squandering over P4 billion of those funds meant for the development of the autonomous region.

We can’t really blame people for thinking that the haste in trying to pass the BBL may have to do with money. As one opponent remarked: “Pera-pera lang yan” (it’s all about money), disclosing that one of the major reasons would be the huge oil deposits sitting in areas covered by the proposed BBL territory. In October 2012, MILF head Al-Hajj Murad Ebrahim asked President Aquino to suspend all oil and gas exploration contracts in Mindanao, in particular the areas covering Liguasan Marsh and Sulu, because the wealth sharing issues have not yet been settled during that time.

Apparently, huge deposits of oil and natural gas were discovered in the Cotabato basin which covers Liguasan Marsh, and areas spanning Sulu and Tawi-Tawi and Sultan Sa Barongis in Sultan Kudarat. Up to 551-million barrel oil equivalent have remained undiscovered in Mindanao, sources say.

The President readily agreed to the MILF’s “request” – and so now under the draft BBL, wealth-sharing issues have been settled with the Bangsamoro getting 100 percent for non-metallic minerals, 75 percent for metallic minerals, and 50 percent for oil, natural gas, coal and uranium. And yes, the Bangsamoro gets 75 percent of the national taxes, fees and charges collected by the national government within the Bangsamoro area (exclusive of tariff and customs duties). 

The BBL may be dying (or comatose as some say), but it can still be saved if the problematic and questionable provisions are carefully scrutinized. More than anything, the people’s trust must be restored, and suspicions that this is being railroaded to favor certain groups or personalities must be erased. Everyone wants lasting peace – and so after all this time, government must tread carefully because any misstep due to haste could send the country back to square one.

Opening a Pandora’s box

The BBL has virtually opened a Pandora’s Box with other regional groups also saying they want to have the same autonomy being considered for the proposed Bangsamoro government – and naturally they expect to have billions in block grants. Some local officials said they won’t be surprised if soon, there will be a movement for the establishment of the Ilocoslovakia State, a Republic of Bicolandia or a Sugbu Nation for the Cebuanos. People from the Cordillera Administrative Region are also feeling shortchanged, saying government should give them more funds for infra and development. 

There are serious calls to revisit the proposal of former senator Nene Pimentel for a shift to federalism with 11 sub-states or political subdivisions including one for the Bangsamoro. This is something that Pimentel had been pushing for two decades, and in fact, a joint resolution was even proposed in 2008 calling for a Constitutional Convention to amend the 1987 Constitution and change the form of government into a federal one.

Davao City mayor and potential 2016 presidentiable Rodrigo Duterte also says federalism is a fallback option in case the BBL is not passed through, or in case the Supreme Court will rule it unconstitutional later on – much like what happened to the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain between the government and the MILF which the SC thumbed down in 2008.

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