The 'new' Bangsamoro governance entity
jurisdiction and giving them “competence over the Shari’ah justice system.” The document also mentions “basic rights” ought to be afforded the “citizens residing in the new political entity.” Considering that the 10 decision points are vague declarations regarding the new entity, we cannot yet assess whether it can survive any constitutional challenge similar to that successfully posed against its predecessor. Nonetheless, as the points have been made public, it might be a good idea to consider them carefully, in the hope that they not suffer the same fate as befell the BJE. Compliance with the existing legal framework. Implementation of these Ten Points would of course need to comply with the existing legal framework under Philippine law, most important of which is the Constitution. Section 18, Article X of the fundamental law explicitly provides that the power to create an autonomous region rests in Congress subject to the favorable vote of the people through a plebiscite. Thus,the ARMM Organic Act (RA 6734) created the ARMM out of the four provinces that favorably voted in the plebiscite called by Congress in 1989. Another plebiscite was held under the ARMM Expansion Act (RA 9054), with only one other province and one city opting to join the ARMM. A “new Bangsamoro political entity,” should it replace the ARMM, must comply not only with the Constitution, but also with the ARMM Organic Act as amended by RA 9054. In addition to this, any attempt to create the entity must not require any amendment to the Constitution for it to be effective.
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It should be remembered that the main reason that the Supreme Court struck down the MOA-AD was because of the government’s commitment to the MILF that the necessary constitutional amendments would be made to implement the MOA-AD’s provisions. Justice Conchita Carpio Morales saw this as outright illegal, considering that the executive branch of government, which has no power whatsoever to propose any amendment to the Constitution, was then trying to guarantee something that it does not even have the power to do by itself. For the new entity to survive any constitutional challenge, its creation should not be based on any commitment on the part of the government to touch the Constitution. The 10 points, which were signed by both Leonen and Iqbal, laid down the general principles to guide the negotiations until the signing of a final peace pact. Here are the Ten Decision Points (in bold), each followed by comments. Decision Point No. 1: The Parties recognize Bangsamoro identity and the legitimate grievances and claims of the Bangsamoro people. The first decision point concerns the recognition of a “Bangsamoro identity.” Whatever identity that is would heavily depend on how most of the country would accept a radical change in the image of Muslim Filipinos. According to Philippine Council on Islam and Democracy (PCID) director Amina Rasul, implementation of Decision Point 1 means “the whole nation will now have to look at fellow citizens in Muslim Mindanao and accept that Philippine history books have sold a story that is different from reality.”
cenSEI Report
• May 21-27, 2012
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