Cordillera also eyes autonomy

MANILA, Philippines - The proposed establishment of the Bangsamoro entity in Muslim Mindanao has gotten other regions to think about autonomy, Isabela Rep. Rodolfo Albano lll said yesterday.

“I have received reports that the Cordillera Administrative Region is seriously studying the legality of asking for full autonomy from the central government once the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) is passed,” Albano said.

“We should not be surprised if indigenous people who have lived in the Cordillera region for centuries will be asking for full autonomy similar to what will be enjoyed soon by our Muslim brothers if the BBL is enacted,” he said.

He said the creation of a new Bangsamoro entity that will replace the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao would set a precedent for all other regions.

The CAR is composed of six provinces: Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga and Mountain Province. It encompasses most of the areas within the Cordillera mountain range, known to be the home of numerous indigenous tribes.

Albano said serious legal questions have been raised against the draft BBL.

“I am confident that my colleagues in Congress will not allow the so-called ‘problematic’ provisions in the draft to get through without being subjected to thorough scrutiny and tedious debates,” he said.

He has asked the 75-member special House committee on the BBL to invite the “best and brightest” legal minds in the country, not only fugitive Muslim rebel leaders, to its hearings.

“I am certain that whatever inputs these eminent legal experts on the Constitution can share with legislators would help enlighten non-lawyer members of the House of Representatives and the Senate to understand the various ramifications of the contentious and controversial provisions contained in the draft law that the Palace wants Congress to pass with dispatch, “ he said.

The special committee, chaired by Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, plans to start its hearings on Wednesday.

It would invite experts on the law and the Constitution from academe and other sectors and organizations, including Integrated Bar of the Philippines, former Supreme Court justices, and members of the 1986 Constitutional Commission that drafted the Constitution.

 It will hold hearings in both Muslim and non-Muslim areas in Mindanao.