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==GPH, MILF peace panels urged to return to nego table, agree on new timetable==
*Source: http://www.mindanews.com/peace-process/2015/05/31/gph-milf-peace-panels-urged-to-return-to-nego-table-agree-on-new-timetable/
*Sunday, May 31, 2015 5:40 pm
:By Carolyn O. Arguillas  (MindaNews)
DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/31 May) — A former member of the government (GPH) peace panel in the negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is proposing that the peace panels return to the negotiating table to agree on a new timetable given that the continued delay and difficulties in the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) will leave no more time for a transition period.
Dean Tony La Viña of the Ateneo School of Government, who served as member of the GPH peace panel in the last days of the Arroyo administration, proposed at the Experts’ Forum of the Cotabato City-based Institute of Autonomy and Governance (IAG) at the Asian Institute of Management in Makati City  on Friday that the new timetable should ensure there is at least one year transition from the ratification of the law and not peg the establishment of the Bangsamoro government to the May 2016 polls since “no real transition can happen.”
La Viña said passing on to the next administration the passage of a BBL may also be considered instead of rushing under the Aquino administration the passage of law that may create a “Bangsamoro Autonomous Region” with “lesser autonomy and powers than the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).”
In the same forum, Gerry Salapuddin, former House Deputy Speaker for Mindanao and principal author of RA 9054, the law passed to incorporate the 1996 Final Peace Agreement between government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) warned that “if Congress will give another failed experiment, do not expect the Bangsamoro to produce miracles. The same failed experiment will also be the result of the kind of law that Congress will enact for the Bangamoro.”
The peace panels are in Kuala Lumpur to discuss the “Normalization” activities on decommissioning of weapons and combatants, among others.
MILF peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal in a text message to MindaNews on Saturday afternoon said “no comment” on the La Vina proposals while GPH peace panel chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer sent no reply.
:“Less than ARMM”
The House of Representatives’ Ad Hoc Committee on the Bangsamoro Basic Law (AHCBBL) approved on May 20 its substitute bill that, benchmarked against the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) that the GPH and MILF signed on March 27, 2014 and the ARMM that it seeks to replace, is “less than ARMM,” a section-by-section presentation of the Bangsamoro Study Group pointed out (see other story).
Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, Committee chair, will deliver his sponsorship speech on the BBL at the plenary on Monday, June 1, the same day the plenary debates will begin. Rodriguez told MindaNews he remains optimistic the bill would pass before they adjourn sine die on June 11.
At the Senate, however, Senator Franklin Drilon announced Saturday that they are now looking at a new timetable – October – within which to pass the law.
Senator Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., chair of the Committee on Local Governments, has yet to wrap up his public hearings on June 2 and 3.
A dozen senators, including himself and Mindanawon senators Teofisto Guingona III and Aquilino Pimentel III have signed the report of Sen. Miriam Santiago, chair of the Senate Committee on Constitutional Amendment and Revision of Codes, that says the BBL should be “substantially revised” to withstand legal scrutiny.
:Moving forward
La Viña noted that the Senate vote is a signal to the President “because by voting that way, they are putting themselves in a situation where it would be very difficult for them to reverse themselves.”
“I think it is a very clear signal. What we don’t know is how they’re going to move forward but if they move forward, we can expect a much more conservative version (of the BBL). So in other words, from an autonomy point of view, from a CAB point of view, this is the best that you can get – the Ad Hoc (Committee) version. Are we actually even willing to lower the bar for that?” he asked.
The peace process, he said, is “strong enough” and there are “political processes in the peace process that they can actually go back and say ‘let’s change the timetable.’ You don’t have to change any substantial agreement. You can change the timetable and negotiate a transition agreement.”
Under the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) signed on October 15, 2012, the government and MILF agreed that the peace panels “shall continue the negotiations until all issues are resolved and all agreements implemented.” They also agreed that “an exit document officially terminating the peace negotiation may be crafted and signed by both parties if and only when all agreements have been fully implemented.”
:For next President
“With apologies to my colleagues in OPAPP (Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process), who’d really want this closed, I actually think a BBL that is owned by the next President is much better than a BBL owned by this President,” La Viña said.
He explained that it is necessary for the next President to own the process, to “champion this” because transitions that do not have the support of the President, will not work.
“Under the circumstances now, it’s gonna work with President Aquino totally committed but President Aquino will no longer be there” next year, he added.
President Aquino steps down from his six-year term on June 30, 2016.
Under the roadmap that the GPH and MILF agreed upon since FAB in late 2012 was to ensure at least one year transition period for the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) to perform its tasks and prepare for the May 2016 election of the first set of officials of the Bangsamoro.
Passing the BBL in October, as Drilon said, means the plebiscite would be in January 2016 . “No real transition can happen” La Viña told MindaNews, as it is too close to the May 9 elections and by March, it would already be campaign period for the synchronized national, local and regional elections.
:From seven years
The MILF originally negotiated for a seven-year transition period, one year of that as pre-interim.
The transition was shortened to three years following the August 4, 2011 meeting of President Aquino and MILF chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim in Japan where they agreed to fast-track the peace process by signing a peace agreement within the first three years of Aquino’s term (2010 to 2013) so implementation can be done in the second half (2013 to 2016).
But it took until January 25, 2014 to finish all four annexes to the FAB that should have been completed before yearend 2012. And the CAB was signed only on March 27 last year.
“Very, very rationally, we’re actually better off assuming that the peace process is strong enough to withstand a one year extension of the deadlines– and assuming that it is – as we’ve seen in Mamasapano, the military forces on both sides are very committed to the peace process already, we’re probably better off taking time and really getting this right than have to push a law that ‘s not only imperfect but worse than what we have here.”
He said he knows that legislators who support the BBL are trying their best. “History will judge you but we should also think, if it doesn’t work, then the alternative is actually not so bad and will actually be even better from an implementation point of view.”
La Vina also said the Supreme Court is another arena to watch out for as quite a number have vowed to question the BBL there.
:Three years
Salapuddin recalled that before the January 25, 2015 tragedy in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, he submitted in writing a proposal to Ad Hoc Committee chair Rodriguez, requesting for an extension of the period for the BTA “so they can fully perform their functions.”
“If the BTA will still be created and ARMM abolished, truth of the matter is they will not be able to do their duties very effectively,” he said.
He cited as example the ARMM under Governor Mujiv Hataman who was appointed as OIC Governor on December 22, 2011 when the ARMM election scheduled in August that year was synchronized with the May 2013 polls, and when he was elected in May 2013.
Salapuddin said that as OIC Governor for nearly two years, Hataman “did not even finish the reorganization and reforms.”
He said Hataman has been serving as ARMM Governor for nearly four years now “but he has not yet fully filled up the necessary plantilla in the ARMM.”
“Yet he was not (heading) a new political entity,” Salapuddin, a former Governor of Basilan, and a former commander of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) said.
Unlike the ARMM, the Bangsamoro will have a parliamentary form of government.
The ARMM was set up in 1990 following a Constitutional provision creating autonomous regions in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and the Cordilleras. It was expected to ensure autonomy for the Moro peoples, following the non-implementation of the autonmy set-up in the 1976 Tripoli Agreement.
The agreement provided for an autonomous region in 13 provinces and nine cities in Mindanao and Palawan but then President Ferdinand Marcos, using his legislative powers under martial law, created two instead of one autonomous region. Following the collapse of the 1976 agreement, then MNLF vice chair Salamat Hashim left to set up the MILF.
:Disastrous
Salapuddin said it would be “disastrous” to pass a law that is not acceptable to both the MILF and the MNLF.
He said he wonders what the BTA can do given the time constraints “and if they will fail, we will again blame them, that they are a failure, that they are not competent, that they are not this and that.”
“That is why I told the Senate… during the hearing last week that if you do the same thing over and over again, do not expect another result. Therefore if Congress will give another failed experiment, do not expect the Bangsamoro to produce miracles. The same failed experiment will also be the result of the kind of law that Congress will enact for the Bangamoro,” Salapuddin said.
If the BBL is “not successfully passed, as much as possible as a true expression and reflection of whatever is in the CAB… I don’t think the Moro mujahideen will accept their fate to be cheated twice — from the MNLF to the MILF. If in case this one will still fail, then it’s not only going to be a recipe for disaster but it might be the glue that will reunite all the different factions … to continue the struggle not anymore for autonomy but even if I don’t have to tell you this, but I know you will be guessing the same as I do, but for independence,” he said.
==Murad seeks OIC aid for Bangsamoro==
*Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cagayan-de-oro/local-news/2015/05/30/murad-seeks-oic-aid-bangsamoro-410446
*Saturday, May 30, 2015
:By Ryan D. Rosauro
MORO Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim has invited the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to “journey with us” and help the Moro people meet the challenge of development in a post-war Mindanao.
“The Muslims in Mindanao have long craved for development, physically and mentally. And it is hoped that it will be delivered in the form of peace dividends as the fruits of the current peace process,” Murad told the OIC-Council of Foreign Ministers during their 42nd conference in Kuwait from May 27 to 28.
“... I would like to take this opportunity to humbly request the OIC member states and affiliated institutions to help us. We would welcome any kind of financial assistance and investments. And on our part, we will give our level best to live up to your expectations,” Murad said.
Murad’s speech was posted in the MILF’s official website on Friday, May 29.
Murad said that he spoke “not only as Chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation (MILF) but mainly on behalf of the Bangsamoro Coordinating Forum (BCF), a forum designed by the OIC for coordination of the MILF and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and for the purpose of achieving unity in our struggle.”
MILF peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal disclosed that it was Murad’s first time to address the OIC-CFM “as a representative of the Bangsamoro people through the BCF.”
Apart from Murad, other Moro leaders attended the conference including former Cotabato City Mayor Muslimen Sema, chair of the largest MNLF faction called Council of 15, and his vice-chair Hatimil Hassan; and Randolph Parcasio, who represented MNLF chair Nur Misuari.
The 57-member pan-Islamic body has played a key role in the search for peace in southern Philippines since the mid-1970s. Under its auspices, negotiation between the government and the MNLF was pursued in 1975 that led to the landmark Tripoli Agreement on Peace in 1976. A Final Peace Agreement with the MNLF was forged in 1996 through the mediation of OIC-member state Indonesia.
In the negotiations between government and the MILF, the OIC served as an observer. Another OIC member, Malaysia, facilitated the forging of a pact between government and the MILF.
The OIC also brokered the creation of the BCF to serve as platform for cooperation between the MILF and the now factionalized MNLF.
During his speech, Murad said the Bangsamoro “are on the verge of opening a new chapter in our history” made possible by the peace pact the MILF inked with the government in March 2014.
“However, the peace agreement would be meaningless if there is no peace dividend delivered,” he added.
He explained that the failure to “truthfully implement” the 1976 pact and to bring “immediate benefits for the conflict-affected communities” led to the rise of radical groups “and spur extremism in Mindanao.”
“That has made us realize that without thorough development, conflicts will continue to prevail and the Bangsamoro will forever be at the losing end,” Murad stressed.
We... have always recognized the importance of economic development and political stability as the pillars to a sustainable development. In order to achieve that, we will have to make sure that situation is conducive for future investments and businesses,” he said.
Murad narrated that the work for development in the region requires massive resources, worrying that “the Bangsamoro will remain as just another dream if it is not supported with equal financial commitments.”
“Although the government has pledged to provide the necessary funding but we fully understand the financial constraints that they face since we are talking about an amount that could reach hundreds of billions of dollars,” Murad explained.
When enacted and ratified, the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law currently pending in Congress provides for a special development fund for the region within a period of five years.
Murad, a former iron-willed combatant who rose from the MILF’s military ranks, spoke frankly about the fate of the peace pacts forged by the MNLF with government for which the OIC were also involved.
“(The) Bangsamoro’s destiny has not changed since 1976 until now. The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) established in 1989 and later strengthened in 1996 has failed to address the root causes of our grievances,” Murad narrated.
“The Bangsamoro remain neglected since the ARMM does not enjoy genuine autonomy as opposed to what its name suggested. Major decision making powers continue to be at the central government’s disposal,” he added.
Murad assured the OIC these “these weaknesses have been addressed” in the agreements the MILF entered into with government. He added that the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro recognizes and builds on the gains of the peace process involving the MNLF.
Even then, Murad asked the OIC “to continue to urge the Philippine Government to faithfully implement the CAB and pave the way for the establishment of the Bangsamoro Government.”
“If, by the grace of Allah, the Bangsamoro Government is established, we strongly appeal to you to help us rebuild our communities that have been ravaged by decades of war. We ask you to welcome us in the community of Muslims, establishing relations and building cultural links to our cities and your countries,” he implored.
“A rare moment in history unfolds, as we step out of the past and embrace the promise of dawn, when we bid farewell to war and strife, and when the struggle of our people finally finds a measure of success in the building of an institution that allows them to shape their future and partake of the resources that Allah endowed them,” Murad said.
==P77M in projects showered on Mamasapano==
*Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/694771/p77m-in-projects-showered-on-mamasapano
*Friday, May 29, 2015 11:22 pm
:By Edwin Fernandez (Inquirer Mindanao, Philippine Daily Inquirer)
COTABATO CITY—The town of Mamasapano in Maguindanao province, made infamous by the deaths of 44 elite police commandos in an operation to get international terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias “Marwan,” is being showered with P77 million in infrastructure projects that would be finished next month, according to officials.
Jame Mlok, head engineer of Maguindanao’s second district engineering office, said among the projects is a 120-meter-long steel bridge that would take the place of a wooden footbridge in the village of Tukanalipao, which played a key role in the debacle that defined the operation to get Marwan.
The operation to get Marwan was delayed as members of the Special Action Force (SAF) of the Philippine National Police had to cross the wooden footbridge to get to Marwan’s hideout in Mamasapano.
It was on that footbridge where some of the SAF members were killed. Bloodstains could still be found on parts of the bridge.
According to Mlok, also being built is an 880-meter-long access road worth P17.5 million, nine school buildings worth a total P44 million, water sanitation facilities, a farm to market road and a mosque.
Mlok said the steel bridge, which would be called “Bridge of Peace,” would be completed next month.
Another ongoing project is the renovation of the Hadji Salik Kalaing National High School, in the village of Tukanalipao, worth P3.5 million.
The infrastructure projects were started in March this year with Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov.
Mujiv Hataman, the region’s Public Works Secretary Emil Sadain and officials from the Philippine Army’s 6th Infantry Division leading groundbreaking ceremonies.
Hataman said the military has shown that it was supportive of the Mindanao peace process through its active involvement in the implementation of the projects.
The Army’s engineering battalion is involved in the construction of a mosque in the area.
Mlok said most of the infrastructure projects are to be finished on schedule.
The province of Maguindanao is also the recipient of projects from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) worth at least 100 million yen.
The projects are part of Jica’s commitment to support Bangsamoro communities following the signing of the peace pact Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro last year, according to Akihiko Tanaka, Jica president.
In other parts of the ARMM, Jica is funding the construction of multipurpose halls, warehouses with solar dryers and school buildings.
==Treason, inciting to sedition raps filed vs PH peace panel, MILF over BBL==
*Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/694365/treason-inciting-to-sedition-raps-filed-vs-ph-peace-panel-milf-over-bbl
* Thursday, May 28, 2015 3:38 pm
:By Tetch Torres-Tupas (AC)
A COMPLAINT for treason and inciting to sedition has been filed before the Manila Prosecutors Office against officials and members of the government peace panel and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) for pushing for the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).
Named in the complaint are Government of the Philippines (GPH) negotiating panel chair Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, former GPH chairman Marvic Leonen who is currently an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, GPH negotiating panel members Senen C. Bacani, Yasmin Busran-Lao, Mehol K. Sadain, former GPH panel consultant Zenonida Brosas. Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos Deles is also included in the complaint.
Also included as respondent in the complaint are MILF negotiating panel chair and the Transition Commission Mohagher Iqbal and members Datu Michael Mastura, Maulana Alonto, Abdulla Camilian, alternate negotiating panel member Datu Antonio Kino, Transition Commission members Ibrahim Ali, Talib Abdulhamid Benito, Pedrito Eisma, Raissa Jajurie, Froilyn Mendoza, Hussein Muñoz, Akmad Sakkam, Said Shiek, Asani Tammang, Timuay Melanio Ulama and Johaira Wahab.
Complainants include Buhay Rep. Jose Atienza, Abakada Representative Jonathan dela Cruz and Atty. Jeremy Gatdula.
The House Ad Hoc Committee on the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) has already approved the measure that will formalize the creation of a new political entity to replace the existing Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The new measure is now known as the Basic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.
The complainants said BBL has usurped the power of Congress to enact laws as it attributes to the Bangsamoro instead of Congress as the author, promoter of the BBL. In effect, complainants said it gives the Bangsamoro people not only the autonomy as a local unit but its independence.
“The proposed BBL, in its entirety, promotes the eventual self-determination of the Bangsamoro political entity, which violates the sovereign of the Republic of the Philippines,” complainant lawmakers said.
Citing a Supreme Court ruling, the complainants pointed out that “no sub-group within the Philippines is entitled to self-determination. Despite this ruling, the respondents still chose to include the sovereign concept of “self-determination” in the BBL. Such persistence is a clear sign of intent to incite others to secede.”
Complainant lawmakers added that the asymmetric relation between the Bangsamoro Government and the National Government has caused the curtailment of the power of the executive branch of the government.
Some of the powers given to the Bangsamoro government that were supposed to be for the national government only include:
• Power to appoint
• Creation of a Bangsamoro Commission on Audit and Shari’ah Supreme Court. The Constitution only allows one Supreme Court and one Commission on Audit.
• Allows the Bangsamoro Parliament to create provinces and cities
• Taxing powers despite absence of guidelines and limitations from Congress.
“The respondents’ strategy for inciting sedition or treason is comprehensive…The respondents also incite people to strip away the superiority of the National Government and to prevent the executive department to freely exercise its power as provided by the Constitution,” the complaint stated.
“The acts of the Respondents, in executing the Framework Agreement and in proposing the BBL also effectively aided the MILF armed forces to successfully assert their existence as a separate and independence state. Therefore, the respondents must be held liable for the crime of treason as punished under the Revised Penal Code,” the complaint added.
==All set for class opening in ARMM, education officials say==
*Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=766224
*Wednesday, May 27, 2015
: (PNA), LAM/NYP/EOF
COTABATO CITY, May 27 (PNA) -- All is set for the opening of classes on June 1 in all public schools in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the ARMM education secretary today said.
"We are 100 percent ready for the incoming school year, 2015-2016," Dr. John Magno, Department of Education (DepED-ARMM) secretary told reporters.
He said school heads and teachers in the region have already been reminded on what they must do to ensure orderly opening of classes next week.
There are around 27,000 teaching and non-teaching personnel in the region who have started preparing two weeks back.
‘Oplan Balik Eskwela’ an annual drive to prepare for the school opening was earlier conducted in the region. It aims at ensuring that students are properly enrolled and are able to attend school when their classes start.
As stated in DepEd Order, the school year will consist of 201 school days, inclusive of the five-day in-service training break. The school year for 2015-2016 begins on June 1 and will end on April 1, 2016.
Zainudin Dalgan, school head of Hadji Salik Kalaing National High School in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, said despite the January 25 bloody encounter in Mamasapano, teachers in his area are all prepared for the incoming school year.
“In fact, on Thursday, May 28, I will meet with six teachers in preparation for the opening of classes,” Dalgan said.
He added that DepEd wants the children of Mamasapano to learn a lot to achieve their dreams and help their community because this is the only way to bring them out of poverty and ignorance.
The Mamasapano incident, a bloody clash between Philippine police commandos and Moro armed men that left 67 people dead, 44 policemen, 17 Moro rebels and civilians, has left a scarce in the community but it also uncovered how poor the village was.
In Basilan, teachers exert extra efforts to bring back children to school.
“As the head of the school, I and the teachers of Upper Taberlongan, had house-to-house approach in encouraging the students to go to school,” said Kamrie Tadjah, teacher-in-charge of Upper Taberlongan Elementary School in Maluso, Basilan.
To date, about 300 students have enrolled in Upper Taberlongan and more enrolees are expected in the coming days.
“Attendance is an important factor in school success, so we planned more extra-curricular activities to prevent absenteeism,” Tadjah added.
The ARMM's Education department will also work in addressing the problem of flooded schools in the region especially in the province of Maguindanao.
Bai Tina D. Husin, Grade 2 teacher of Balong Elementary School in Kabuntalan, Maguindanao, said that in case of natural calamities, the plan is to have make-up classes to compensate for the school days lost.
Magno appealed to community leaders to help, as stakeholders, in ensuring the class opening on Monday will come smoothly.
The Maguindanao police office has also started deploying peacekeepers and traffic enforcers in front of elementary ad high schools to ensure the safety of students.
==CDA-ARMM hosts Successful Cooperatives Congress==
*Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=765435
*Tuesday, May 26, 2015
:(PNA), JBP/NYP/EOF
COTABATO CITY, May 26 (PNA) -- To further improve and promote the viability and growth of cooperatives in the region, the Cooperative Development Authority of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (CDA-ARMM) launched on Monday in Cotabato City the 1st ARMM Successful Cooperatives Congress, officials said.
Dimnatang Radia, CDA-ARMM administrator, said successful cooperatives will present their best practices -- specifically new management techniques, good governance and entrepreneurial activities -- to newly established cooperatives.
“The 1st ARMM Successful Cooperatives Congress will form part of the benchmarking program of the CDA-ARMM and will enable small and micro cooperatives to be inspired by the best practices of the successful ones,” Radia said, adding that many cooperatives in the region have struggled to uplift their members’ economic status.
“With their unyielding conviction, hard work, and determination, some of these cooperatives surpassed their goals and have become millionaires,” he said.
The CDA-ARMM has registered around 4,600 cooperatives from 2010-2014, the highest number among regions in the country.
Orlando Ravanera, CDA national chairman, said the cooperatives are one of the ways to end poverty.
“With the promotion of cooperatives as instruments for equity, social justice, and economic development, we can hopefully end poverty that besets the region,” Ravanera said.
Data show more than 12,000 cooperatives are registered in Mindanao with PHP150 billion worth of assets.
Partners of the cooperative movement at the local, national and international levels will also share during the event their respective programs, projects and services that the region’s cooperatives may avail of.
Those scheduled to make presentations during the event include international agencies such as the World Bank and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) as well as national partners led by the Land Bank of the Philippines and the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF).
The congress also serves as a venue to showcase the services and goods of ARMM’s successful cooperatives.
About 200 participants from the five provinces of the region -- Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi -- are participating in the two-day activity.
==PNP-ARMM deploys cops for Balik Eskwela 2015==
*Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=765188
*Monday, May 25, 2015
:By Noel Y. Punzalan [(PNA), CTB/NYP]
CAMP SK PENDATUN, Maguindanao, May 25 (PNA) -- Chief Supt. Ronaldo R. Estilles, acting police regional director in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (PNP-ARMM) has deployed police officers in the region to assist the "Balik Eskwela 2015."
"PNP-ARMM is working closely with the regional DepEd office and other national and local government agencies to ensure the peaceful and orderly school opening on June 1, 2015," Estilles said.
Police personnel have been deployed region-wide to conduct foot patrol near schools, aside from establishing Police Assistance Desk (PADs) where students and other individuals can report cases of bullying and other crimes, he said.
Likewise, mobile and foot patrols will also be conducted along major routes leading to all learning institutions and within the immediate vicinity of school premises.
Moreover, the PNP-ARMM further cautions the students to be wary of strangers and to refrain from talking to them, to avoid wearing expensive jewelry and to avoid bringing large amounts of money or from using expensive phones while on the streets.
The PNP will also continue extending its help to the DepEd’s “Brigada Eskwela” program in preparing the public school classrooms for the opening of school classes.
PNP-ARMM encourages the public especially the students to report any incident of bullying or other street crimes to the nearest police station or through social media (Twitter - @PNPHotline / @ pnppio or Facebook Page – Philippine National Police) or through the following: Dial 117 or text 2920; and Isumbong Mo Kay TSIP 09178475757; while for PRO ARMM Social Media Accounts-@proarmm (twitter); pnp proarmm bulletin (Facebook Account).
==MNLF, ARMM legislators will be in Bangsamoro Transition Authority==
*Source: http://www.mindanews.com/peace-process/2015/05/24/mnlf-armm-legislators-will-be-in-bangsamoro-transition-authority/
*Sunday, May 24, 2015 9:14 pm
:By Carolyn O. Arguillas (MindaNews)
QUEZON CITY (MindaNews / 24 May) — If the provision in the House Committee-approved Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) on the composition of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) is adopted by the plenary, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front -led governing body in the Bangsamoro during the transition period will now be composed of 60 instead of 50 and will now include representatives from the Moro National Liberation Front and all 24 incumbent members of the Regional Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
The 15-member joint government (GPH) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) that drafted the BBL (now proposed by the Ad Hoc Committee to be renamed “Basic Law of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region”), provided for 50 members in the BTA, including representatives from “non-Moro indigenous communities, women, settler communities and other sectors” who will be appointed by the President.
The GPH and MILF roadmap to peace targets June 30,2016 as the establishment of the Bangsamoro government.
As the principal party to the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) that the parties signed on March 27 last year, the parties agreed that the MILF “shall lead the BTA, in its leadership and membership.”
The Ad Hoc Committee on the Bangsamoro Basic Law (AHCBBL), however, amended the provision by adding “with the participation of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) in its leadership and membership.”
It also included “all the incumbent members” of the ARMM’s Regional Legislative Assembly, who shall serve in the BTA “until the expiration of their term.”
The ARMM’s legislative body has 24 members elected in 2010 for a three-year term.
The AHCBBL also amended the list of sectors to read “non-Moro indigenous peoples, women, Christian residents, youth and other sectors.” It also provided that “at least two members thereof shall come from non-Moro indigenous peoples” and that women “will be adequately represented in all decision-making mechanisms.”
:Who introduced what?
The color-coded Committee’s consolidated working draft shows who introduced what amendments.
Davao del Norte Rep. Anthony del Rosario, Batanes Rep. Dinah Abad, Iloilo Rep. Arthur Defensor and Misamis Occidental Rep. Henry Oaminal, one of eight vice chairs of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Bangsamoro Basic Law (AHCBBL), did not touch the first paragraph of the section and maintained the MILF leadership in the BTA.
They proposed to add “nominees of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) shall likewise be appointed to the BTA.”
But Representatives Tupay Loong of Sulu, vice chair; vice chair Bai Sandra Sema of Maguindanao, Maryam Arbison of Sulu, Mariano Piamonte of A Teacher party-list, vice chair Democrito Mendoza of TUCP party-list, Rep. Dhjalia Turabin-Hataman of Anak Mindanaw party-list, Jorge Almonte of Misamis Occidental, vice chair Jesus Sacdalan of North Cotabato, Lilia Macrohon-Nuno of Zamboanga City, Imelda Dimaporo of Lanao del Norte, Ferdinand Hernandez of South Cotabato and Ansaruddin Adiong of Lanao del Sur proposed to add in the first paragraph the participation of the MNLF in the BTA’s “leadership and membership.”
The proposal to increase the BTA membership from 50 to 60 came from Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, AHCBBL chair.
Zamboanga City Rep. Celso Lobregat proposed “50 plus 36 members.” MindaNews sought Lobregat for a clarification on the figure but he has not replied as of 6 p.m. Sunday.
Representatives Rodriguez. Loong, vice chair Basilan Rep. Jim Hataman-Salliman, Sema, Surigao del Sur Rep. Philip Pichay, Sacdalan, Amatong (not indicated if Isidro or Rommel), Turabin-Hataman, Macrohon-Nuno proposed to include in the BTA “all the incumbent members of the Regional Assembly of the ARMM which shall serve in the BTA until the expiration of their term” and the rest of the BTA members, as proposed by Loong, will be appointed by the “incumbent” President.
:Only RLA members
The Chairman’s Working Draft as well as the Chairman’s and Vice Chairpersons’ Working Draft carried the proposal of the group but amended it to read “all incumbent members of the ARMM.” Loong’s proposal was not carried in both drafts.
At the section by section deliberation last May 19, the ARMM membership in the BTA was specified to mean only RLA members.
The RLA has 24 assemblymen from the ARMM provinces of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-tawi, Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao.
Lanao del Sur Rep. Ansaruddin Adiong asked, “what about the Vice Governor?” but Rodriguez replied the BTA membership is only for the RLA.
Rodriguez said ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman had signified his intention to resign once the BTA is set up. Hataman’s wife, Rep. Dhjalia Turabin-Hataman, confirmed her husband’s intention. Hataman himself told MindaNews he would resign once the BTA is set up.
The inclusion of the RLA members into the BTA was reportedly due to a lobby by governors in the ARMM provinces and the ARMM’s RLA members.
Rep. Nancy Catamco of North Cotabato proposed to add that “at least two members shall come from non-Moro Indigenous Peoples” while Representatives Turabin-Hataman and Mendoza proposed to add “women will be adequately represented in all decision-making mechanisms.”
Both proposals were carried.
:Transition Period
The draft BBL proposed that the transition or interim period for the establishment of the Bangsamoro “shall commence upon ratification of this Basic Law.”
The Committee amended the sentence by adding “Autonomous Region” after Bangsamoro. The AHCBBL had aproposed to rename the new political entity from “Bangsamoro” to “Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.”
The consolidated Committee draft shows there were proposals for the transition period to end in 2019, but these were not carried into the Chairman’s or the Chairmans’ and Vice Chairpersons’ Working Draft.
For the record, Magdalo party-list Rep. Gary Alejano proposed, according to the Committee draft, a transition for the establishment of the Bangsamoro “of three years starting from 2016 to 2019.”
Representatives Loong, Sema, Hattaman-Salaliman, Piamonte, Sacdalan, Almonte, Amatong, Dimaporo , Pichay Mendoza, Muntinlupa Rep. Rodolfo Biazon and Catamco proposed that the transition for the establishment of the Bangsamoro shall commence upon ratification of this Basic Law “up to 2019.”
The Alejano and the group’s proposals were not carried into Rodriguez’ 107-page Chairman’s Working Draft and the 109-page Chairman’s and Vice Chairpersons’ Working Draft (CVCD). By a vote of 37-16, the AHCBBL approved to make the 109-page draft the basis for the voting.
As this section on transition is in the latter part of the draft BBL, it was taken up in the late hours of the 13-hour session on May 19. Neither Alejano nor the group proponents pushed for the amendment they earlier introduced.
:Chaotic transition
MILF peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal does not see the new composition of the BTA as a problem.
“Basta MILF ang mag-lead at mas marami kami,” (For as long as the MILF will lead and we’re majority), Iqbal told MindaNews Sunday.
The intent of the legislators to add MNLF representatives and RLA members in the BTA may appear laudable but fears have been expressed that the BTA “will not be able to bring a common agenda at the most crucial period of transition” if the membership is unwieldy.
“This is a chaotic transition or a transition to chaos,” a MindaNews source privy to the current discussions in the GPH-MILF peace process, said.
Omar Sema, legal counsel of the MNLF faction under his father, Muslimin Sema, told MindaNews that including the MNLF in the BTA “while laudable, means nothing as there is no assurance it will not be a deleted in the plenary, considering particularizing the MILF and MNLF amounts to a class legislation which put the entire provision in danger of deletion because of its apparent unconstitutionality.”
The MNLF under Nur Misuari signed a peace agreement with the government in 1976 and a Final Peace Agreement in 1996. Misuari’s vice chair, Salamat Hashim, broke away from the MNLF after the collapse of the 1976 peace agreement and set up the MILF.
:BTA’s tasks
During the transition, the BTA exercises legislative and executive powers, with the executive authority exercised by the interim Chief Minister, who shall be appointed by the President, while the BTA shall exercise legislative authority.
Within the transition, the BTA is tasked, among others, to enact priority legislations such as the Bangsamoro Administrative Code and the Bangsamoro Revenue Code.
The enactment of a Bangsamoro Electoral Code and a Bangsamoro Civil Service Code was scrapped from the original provision since the AHCBBL amended the draft and made the elections and civil service offices mere regional offices.
The BTA is also tasked to organize the bureaucracy of the Bangsamoro Government including the approval and implementation of a transition plan, and the institution of a placement process for hiring of personnel during transition, the setting up of offices and other institutions necessary for the continued functioning of government and delivery of social services in the region, “as well as those necessary for the smooth operations of the first elected Bangsamoro Government in 2016.”
:“Fast-track”
The MILF had earlier demanded for a seven year transition period, one year of that as pre-transition. It later agreed to a three-year transition after President Aquino and MILF chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim met on August 4, 2011 in Tokyo, Japan.
Aquino and Murad agreed to fast-track the peace process by signing a peace agreement within the first half of the Aquino administration (2010 to 2013) so that the second half (2013 to 2016) , as suggested by Aquino, would be for the implementation of the peace agreement.
The peace negotiations, however, suffered delays even as the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) was signed on October 15, 2012, within the first half of Aquino’s term.
It took over a year to finish the four Annexes to the FAB that was supposed to have been finished by December 31, 2012. The last annex was signed on January 25, 2014 and the Comprehensive Agreement (CAB) was signed on March 27, 2014.
The election of officials nationwide is on May 9, 2016.
:Council of Elders
Also to be organized during the transition is the Bangsamoro Council of Leaders, which, according to the BTC-drafted BBL is composed of the Chief Minister, provincial governors, mayors of chartered cities, and representatives from the non-Moro indigenous communities, women, settler communities, and other sectors.
The role of the Council is to advise the Chief Minister on matters of governance in the Bangsamoro The representation of the non-Moro indigenous communities is “pursuant to their customary laws and indigenous processes.”
==ARMM private schools won’t raise tuition, says CHEd==
*Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/693141/armm-private-schools-wont-raise-tuition-says-ched
*Saturday, May 23, 2015 6:42 pm
:By Karlos Manlupig (RC, Inquirer Mindanao)
DAVAO CITY—Despite having been granted permission by the Commission on Higher Education (CHEd) to raise tuition fees, private colleges and universities in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) will not be increasing their tuition rate.
Amor Pendaliday, CHEd-ARMM chief, said private educational institutions operating in the region had agreed that implementing tuition increases would discourage more parents from sending their children to school.
The CHEd recently gave 313 universities and colleges permission to increase tuition by an average of 6.17 percent or about P29.86 per unit. For other school fees, CHEd declared an average increase of 6.55 percent or about P135.60.
“Academic institutions in the ARMM preferred not to increase their tuition because they want the parents in our region to send their children to college,” Pendaliday said.
ARMM is among the country’s poorest regions. The National Statistical Coordination Board has reported that 47 out of 100 families in the five-province region were poor or more than twice the national figure of 22.
ARMM has about 51 private schools catering to students that its 15 state universities and colleges could not take in.
:Big relief
Second year college student Sittie Aisha Tawal from the Mindanao State University-Dalican Campus in Maguindanao said the CHEd’s announcement was a big relief for her parents.
Even if MSU is a government-operated institution, nonscholars still had to pay to get education.
“We are glad that we don’t have a tuition increase, it is good news for us, especially to our parents,” Tawal said.
Kabataan party-list has said the “new spate of fee hikes will result in additional burdens to students and their families.”
“CHEd chair Patricia Licuanan sounded apologetic in her pronouncement that 313 higher education institutions will again increase tuition and other school fees this academic year. Yet no amount of apology can dilute the fact that CHEd has once again betrayed its constitutional mandate to ensure the affordability and accessibility of education,” Kabataan Rep. Terry Ridon said in a statement.
Ridon said the manner of presenting the tuition hikes using averages and the equivalent increase per unit was misleading.
“The data presented by CHEd is highly misleading, as the commission only shows us the values as expressed in absolute averages. By presenting the data in this manner, schools with high tuition and other fee increases can hide among schools that charge less. The truth of the matter is that there are many private HEIs that charge well over P80,000 per semester in tuition and other school fees,” Ridon said.
“CHEd did not even include in its presentation of data how much private HEIs are earning. In so many ways, CHEd is trying to play with figures to justify the unjustifiable,” he added.
Ridon said despite CHEd’s pronouncements that it was taking a holistic approach in approving tuition hikes, it has allowed them to continue “raking in billions in profit.”
“Tuition and other school fee increases can never be justified, no matter how. This new wave of tuition and other school fee increases again proves that the Aquino administration does not really want to provide affordable and accessible education,” Ridon said.
==Mock cultural villages showcasing ARMM’s major tribes to re-open in June==
*Source: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/1521432211380/mock-cultural-villages-showcasing-armm-s-major-tribes-to-re-open-in-june
*Friday, May 22, 2015
:(Bureau of Public Information-ARMM/APB/PIA-10)
MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, May 22 (PIA) --- The mock cultural villages that showcased the seven major tribes of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) will be re-opened on June 10 at the regional government’s compound in Cotabato City.
These cultural villages first opened to the public in November last year as part of the celebration of the 25th anniversary of ARMM. It was viewed by at least 100,000 visitors from different provinces in Mindanao not just from the ARMM.
The seven major tribes covered in this event are Maguindanaon, Tausug, Sama, Maranao, Yakan, Iranon, and Teduray.
Each village will feature traditional living, culture and arts, and would depict the people and their products on a landscape consistent with those of tribal communities in Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi.
The villages will be open to the general public for 100 days, specifically during the month of Ramadhan. There will also be a series of activities and entertainment in the regional government’s compound to be spearheaded by different regional agencies.
“Ang pagbubukas muli ng cultural villages ay para maipamahagi, maintindihan at lalong maunawaan ng ating mga mamamayan ang kultura, kasaysayan at pamumuhay ng mga tao sa iba’t ibang probinsya ng ARMM (The reopening of the cultutral villages will allow the people to understand better the culture, history, and way of living in various provinces in the region,” said Tourism Secretary Marites Maguindra.
“We added additional healthy living activities, which the people can join like zumba, ‘hataw’ and yoga,” she said.
Aside from these, there will also be a free tour, a children’s day, and an indigenous arts and handicraft exhibit, among others.
A competition among participating tribes and their villages is also part of the event wherein the winning village would be announced during the closing program, or after 100 days.
The Tausug village was recognized as the best in last year’s event.
The re-opening of the mock villages will bear the theme “100 Days of Journey in understanding the culture and history of the Bangsamoro towards peace and development.”
==Palace hoping Congress will pass BBL version for peace, development of Mindanao==
*Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=&rid=764202
*Thursday, May 21, 2015
:By Jelly F. Musico [(PNA), LGI/JFM]
MANILA, May 21 (PNA) -- Malacanang is hoping both the House of Representatives and the Senate will pass a Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) version that will bring lasting peace and development in Mindanao.
”We are convinced that their decision is for the lasting peace and development of Bangsamoro and Mindanao,” Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said on Thursday in a press briefing in Malacanang.
Coloma also believed that the BBL which was renamed as Basic Law of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in the House, can withstand the scrutiny as to its constitutionality.
”Since the BBL was drafted, every provision has been scrutinized to make sure it will abide with the Constitution,” he said.
Although the Supreme Court is the final arbiter, Coloma said the BBL would still be decided by the people of Mindanao through a plebiscite.
”It will be presented to our countrymen and according to our Constitution , they have the final sovereign will. It is still up to them if they think this (BBL) can help in achieving peace,” he said.
The BBL or the Basic Law of the Bangamoro Autonomous Region hurdled the committee level of the House of Representatives last Wednesday.
On Thursday, Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago said changing the name of the BBL will not make it any less objectionable unless Congress also revamps the bill to address numerous “constitutional infirmities.”
Santiago is the chairperson of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments and revision of codes that conducted separate hearings to tackle the constitutionality of the proposed law.
Santiago said she finished already her committee report and was signed by seven senators.
Aside from Santiago, other senators who already signed the report are Juan Edgardo "Sonny" Angara, Jinggoy Estrada, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Aquilino "Koko" Pimentel III, Vicente Sotto III, and Cynthia Villar.
The 27-page document is one of three committee reports that will form the Senate’s position on the BBL effort. The two others will come from the committee on local government, the primary committee, and the committee on peace, unification, and reconciliation.
Coloma defended the June 11 deadline for the passage of the BBL, saying both the House and the Senate have been given enough time to discuss the proposed law.
”We have already spent enough time for it,” he said, reacting to Marcos’ statement that BBL passage should not be rushed.
==DOH-ARMM offers free cervical cancer screening==
==DOH-ARMM offers free cervical cancer screening==
*Source: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/1521432028636/doh-armm-offers-free-cervical-cancer-screening
*Source: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/1521432028636/doh-armm-offers-free-cervical-cancer-screening
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