“There is that big constitutional issue which is the parliamentary system of government

that the MILF has been pressing all these years under different administrations.

The Bangsamoro people may be rejoicing too early with the congressional passage of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), which already has the signature of President Duterte. There still are a lot of constitutional issues that have to be ironed out—and before the Supreme Court (SC).

Even as President Duterte last week signed the BOL, which is being described as “a key step to ending a Muslim rebellion” in Mindanao that had claimed more than 150,000 lives since the 1970s, it is hardly a guarantee that this will end the Muslim rebellion. That is far from over as Muslims are tribal people, and there are many factions within the Moro tribes.This can mean that the Bangsamoro government envisioned will not be free from tribal Muslim rebellions.

Rushing laws has always been the problem with the Senate and the House of Representatives as, more often than not, bills enacted into law, especially the BOL, face a lot of constitutional problems.

First off, a big question would be whether or not the Legislature can, through the enactment of the BOL, amend the 1987 Constitution, disregard the constitutional provision creating the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, since the terms and conditions in the BOL create a new and different government structure, completely different from the ARMM.

A mere law cannot amend the Constitution.

Yet a plebiscite is being scheduled, but obviously, even before the polls for this plebiscite, there is hardly any true information drive on this BOL and what is entailed. For example, there is the claim of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to thousands of Muslims gathered that finally, their dream of self-determination for the Muslims is being realized with the BOL, even when the law itself junks the proviso on self-determination. This is truly a dangerous inclusion in such a law since self-determination translates to the Moros’ dream of having their own independent state, totally separate from the Republic of the Philippines.

Then, too, it looks like the MILF will have its own military and police, apart from the Philippine military, as the law has not mentioned this.

Give it a longer time, these same Moros and their leaders, with all the billions the central government, using taxpayers’ money and not just the taxes from Mindanao taxpayers, will start getting from friendly Islamic countries attack helicopters and other war material that will eventually be used against the government of the Philippines to fulfil their “dream of self-determination,” which is the Moros’ term for independence through secession.

One wonders: If the taxpayers from Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas, as well as Mindanao, are footing the gargantuan bill for the unelected MILF leaders to run the Bangsamoro government and pour—take a deep breath—5 percent yearly of the total national budget, which now hitting close to P3 trillion, why are only select Mindanaoans allowed to vote on the creation of a virtual independent state? Why not the general electorate?

But there are more constitutional problems to be hurdled, should this law be questioned before the High Court. Already the Philippine Constitution Association and the group of former Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Tan will be questioning the constitutionality of the law in the SC.

There is that big constitutional issue which is the parliamentary system of government that the MILF has been pressing all these years under different administrations. The MILF leaders finally got it written down in black and white by these senators and congressmen, who should have known better, as such a parliamentary system of government for the Bangsamoros cannot exist under the 1987 Constitution that has created a presidential government for all of the Philippines.

“But there are more constitutional problems to be hurdled

Imagine this: The new Bangsamoro government, even under transitory conditions, is to have a parliamentary government that, in effect, is a parallel government to the national government, which makes it a state within a state—and certainly this is not allowed by the Constitution.

The Bangsamoro Transition Commission chairman Ghadzali Jaafar, in a radio interview, assured that the Bangsamoro government will be upright, giving their assurance that this government is different from the ARMM.

How can they give such assurances, considering the fact that the MILF leaders, who will be ruling their “state within a state” propped up by a budget in the tens of billions with even bigger budgets yearly, have zero experience in government? The MILF rebels are all fighters and don’t know how to govern and, worse, the MILF leadership fails to control its fighters as proven during the Mamasapano massacre that murdered 44 Special Action Forces and this when peace was being brokered.

One big question is this: Will the MILF accept the ruling of the SC should the High Court say the BOL is unconstitutional or will the MILF take up arms again?

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