An Insight on the Draft of the Bangsamoro Basic Law

The 1987 Constitution provides for two types of local governance aside from the national

government:

1. The territorial and political subdivisions which are the provinces, cities, municipalities,

and barangays; and

2. The autonomous regions in Muslim Mindanao and the Cordilleras (Article X, Section I).

The creation of autonomous regions in Muslim Mindanao and in the Cordilleras consisting of

provinces, cities, municipalities, and geographical areas share common and distinctive historical

and cultural heritage, economic and social structures, and other relevant characteristics (Article

X, Section XV of the 1987 Constitution). Further, Article X, Section XX provides that within its

territorial jurisdiction and subject to the provisions of the Constitution and national laws, the

organic act of autonomous regions shall provide for legislative powers over: 

Administrative organization;

Creation of sources of revenues;

Ancestral domain and natural resources;

Personal, family, and property relations;

Regional urban and rural planning development;

Economic, social, and tourism development;

Educational policies;

Preservation and development of the cultural heritage; and

Such other matters as may be authorized by law for the promotion of the general welfare

of the people of the region.

In the case of Limbona v. Mangelin, G.R. No. 80391, the Court held that autonomy is either

decentralization of administration or decentralization of power. There is decentralization of

administration when the central government delegates administrative powers to political

subdivisions in order to broaden the base of government power and in the process to make local

governments ‘more responsive and accountable,’ and ‘ensure their fullest development as self-

reliant communities and make them more effective partners in the pursuit of national

development and social progress.

Decentralization of power, on the other hand, involves an abdication of political power in the

favor of local government units declared to be autonomous. In that case, the autonomous

government is free to chart its own destiny and shape its future with minimum intervention from

central authorities. The decentralization of power amounts to "self-immolation," since in that

event, the autonomous government becomes accountable not to the central authorities but to its

constituency.

In granting autonomy, the national government does not totally relinquish its powers (Pimentel,

Jr. v. Aguirre, G.R. No. 132988).  The grant of autonomy does not make territorial and political

subdivisions sovereign within the state or an "imperium in imperio" (Basco, et al., v. PAGCOR,

G.R. No. 91649). The aggrupation of local government units and the creation of regional

development councils in Sections XIII and XIV of Article X of the Constitution do not

contemplate grant of discretion to create larger units with a recognized distinct political power

that is parallel to the state. It merely facilitates coordination and exchange among them, still, for

the purpose of administration (Limbona v. Mangelin, G.R. No. 80391).

Laws exist for the reason of justice and peace and I affirm the distinct historical identity and

birthright of the Bangsamoro people to their ancestral homeland and self-governance.

With the draft of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) made available by the Office of the

Presidential Adviser On the Peace Process (OPAPP), I find it controversial the use of the word

self-determination. Unless otherwise interpreted, the right to self-determination in international

law is understood as the right of a colonial territory to be independent or choose other status

which they deem as fit as a people.

Although just a draft, there are many provisions in the Bangsamoro Basic Law which I think are

unconstitutional. Among those provisions are the following:

A Parliamentary form of government in our present Presidential form of government

(Article IV, Section III and Article VII, Section IV of BBL) as Philippines is a republican

state;

The power of the Bangsamoro Parliament being able to pass a law (Article X, Section

XXIII, Article XI, Section XII of BBL) as only Congress possess such power;

The limitation of the power of the Constitutional Commissions - Commission on

Elections, Commission on Audit, and Civil Service Commission (Article V, Section II,

Article XII, Section II of BBL) by allowing the commissions designated in the

Bangsamoro government be under the authority of the Chief Minister; and

The inclusion of one Bangsamoro representative in the critical agencies of the

government (Article VI, Section IX of BBL) which is in derogation of the power of the

President to appoint members in the executive and judicial branch.

Crucial is the legal meaning of “intergovernmental relations” (Article VI) used in the BBL. The

intent of the word shall play a significant role in the implementation of the said law.

The passing of the BBL may serve as a mechanism such that once it is found effective, it may be

copied and replicated in the country which could mean revision of the constitution as it may not

be the law that we need to change but system itself on which the law is propagated.

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