MANILA, Aug. 11 (PNA) — Thirteen networks of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) from Mindanao filed on Tuesday before the Supreme Court (SC) a petition to intervene in the case of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).
The petitioners argued the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) are “dissimilar” and different from the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) which was declared by the SC as “unconstitutional.”
They claimed both the FAB and the CAB passed through various consultative processes in diverse multi-cultural and multi-ethnic sectors in Mindanao and other areas to ensure that people are adequately informed on its substance and are able to provide recommendatory inputs too to both peace panels.
They added both the FAB and the CAB are instruments in the attainment of social justice and in transformational developments in the Bangsamoro region which have perpetually suffered both political and economic marginalization.
They further argued that they adhere to and uphold the position of the framers of the 1987 Constitution and the Peace Council who made evaluative study of the documents, including the proposed BBL, that these are constitutional.
Hence, they said, they find it grossly irresponsible for other groups who wanted to nullify, restrict and deter the implementation of the CAB forged from 17 years of negotiations in the interest of “human rights, equal protection, and right to self-determination, all under the regime of peace.”
The petitioners are survivors of massive internal displacements but are also involved in various informational and educational advocacies for democratic and transparent peace process between the Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
They are also stakeholders of peace, collectively aspiring for right to self-determination and are directly working with communities in dialogues, human rights, peace-building, civilian protection and ceasefire monitoring. (PNA)