TWELVE SENATORS will remain in office until May 2019 yet.
They may and do not have to curry favors with voters in the next balloting.
Eight ran and won under the banner of Liberal Party-led Team PNoy in May 2013, including three who are members of the hitherto opposition Nacionalista Party.
Three others ran and won under the opposition United Nationalist Alliance coalition; one other ran and won as an independent candidate.
Before the Mamasapano incident of Jan. 25, 2015, there was the proposed Bangsamo Basic Law on which most of them said a mouthful, in largely joyous, celebratory tone.
Has the Mamasapano incident caused them a change of heart and mind on the BBL? Why and how so? Who has affirmed, revised, reversed, or retracted their views on the BBL?
• Angara, Juan Edgardo “Sonny” , Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (Team PNoy)
Co-author of proposed BBL (SB 2408).
Angara sees the suspension of deliberations on the proposed BBL as positive, saying that it will give legislators in both chambers of Congress time to think about exactly what the country is entering into. In an interview with dzBB radio last Feb 15, he said, “Maganda na ring nagkaroon ng break or tigil dito sa usapin ng BBL dahil parang tren itong BBL na napakabilis. Mga 20 hearing na sa Kamara at tatlo sa Senado. Mabuti nang nagkaroon muna ng tigil sa debate dito para mapag-isipan natin kung talagang gusto nating pasukin ito.”
He said that the MILF should show their participation in trust-building and show “good faith” in the peace negotiations by proving that they are not coddling terrorists.
Angara has filed a bill seeking to include Bangsamoro studies in curriculum of Philippine education system to instill an understanding of Bangsamoro history, culture, and identity in the minds of the youth.
• Aquino, Paolo Benigno “Bam”, Liberal Party (Team PNoy)
Co-author of proposed BBL (SB 2408).
In March 2014, Aquino stressed the need for BBL to foster economic growth in Mindanao. He said, “If there is peace and security, Mindanao will become a magnet for business and investments that will provide jobs and other livelihood to our brothers and sisters in Mindanao. With the help of this agreement, the government’s quest for inclusive growth will be easier to achieve.”
In a Feb. 17, 2015 interview with the Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau however, Aquino said that it would be difficult to tackle the BBL if the Mamasapano clash remains unresolved. He said that those who committed the “heinous act,” and “summary execution” needed to be brought to justice. Only then, he said, can the BBL be enhanced and amendments to the proposal introduced, so that the law will be strengthened and the apprehension of the public about BBL will be addressed.
He said he believes that the BBL needs amendments, among them the need to have a provision on “safeguarding the rights of indigenous peoples in the Bangsamoro autonomous areas.”
• Binay, Maria Lourdes “Nancy”, United Nationalist Alliance
Co-author of proposed BBL (SB2408)
Upon the submission of the draft BBL to Congress in September last year, Binay issued a statement wherein she said, “As a member of the Senate, I will give utmost priority to the thorough review of its provisions to ensure that it is in accordance with the Constitution. The Bangsamoro Basic Law is an urgent measure, however, we should recognize that such an important piece of legislation requires serious scrutiny from the members of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Rest assured that in all our discussions, our priority will always be the welfare of the women, children and elderly trapped in strife-torn Mindanao. Likewise, we shall see to it that the rights and interests of the lumad are represented, upheld and protected.”
After the Mamasapano clash, Binay urged for the investigation of the incident. In a Feb. 22 report by People’s Journal, Binay appealed to the peace panels of the government and the MILF to not set a deadline for the passage of the BBL. She said that she hopes the MILF will accept changes to the BBL draft if there are provisions that need amendment.
• Cayetano, Alan Peter, Nacionalista Party (Team PNoy)
He was among the 13 original authors of the BBL in the Senate. On Jan. 26, a day after the Mamasapano clash however, he stated in media that he is withdrawing authorship of the BBL; His letter formally withdrawing his signature as co-author of the BBL is dated January 27, 2015, according to Senate records. From being co-author, Cayetano became the biggest critic of the BBL after the Mamasapano clash. A January 26 report in GMA News Online quoted him as saying that the incident showed the alleged lack of commitment of the MILF for peace and development in Mindanao. “Para saan pa yung BBL kung ngayon pa lang na hindi pa nila kontrolado ‘yung area, ang sasabihin lang nila pag may napatay na singkuwentang pulis, ay hindi nag-coordinate? So I’m withdrawing my co-authorship of the BBL and I seriously doubt kung mabubuhay pa itong peace agreement,” he said.
“Ang masakit pa dito, ang hinahabol naman ay isang international terrorist. Hindi ba dapat na out of good faith ang MILF na ang humuli ‘dun at sila ang nag-present sa ating authorities? Meron namang P5 million na bounty on the head. Pero ang nangyari baliktad. I’m disgusted about what’s happening and I really doubt na mapapasa ito dahil sa nangyari,” he said.
In an ambush interview conducted by the Senate Press Relations and Information Bureau last Feb. 18, Cayetano conceded that “the BBL and the first part of the peace talks were idealistic,” he also said that it is but “an illusion.”
Cayetano also alluded to the MILF’s alleged links to terrorist organizations. A Feb. 21 report by the Inquirer quoted Cayetano as saying, “So wag na tayong maglokohan (let’s not kid ourselves), they continue to be in bed with jihadists and extremists.”
Cayetano pursued this line of reasoning at the final hearing of the Senate Committee on Public Order on the Mamasapano incident. He said that the MILF had been coddling terrorists Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan and Abdul Bassit Usman, who were in hiding in MILF-controlled territory for years. He also questioned Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles’s loyalty to the government when he asked the latter who she was representing in the peace process.
* Ejercito, Joseph Victor “JV”, United Nationalist Alliance
He was among the 13 original authors of the BBL in the Senate. On Jan. 26, a day after the Mamasapano clash however, he stated in media that he is withdrawing authorship of the BBL; His letter formally withdrawing his signature as coauthor of the BBL is dated January 27, 2015, according to Senate records.
Ejercito said, “I am withdrawing my signature as a co-author of the Bangsamoro Basic Law as a result of this carnage. My heart bleeds for our policemen who were mercilessly killed.”
“Considering that such cowardly acts occurred amid finalizing efforts to attain lasting peace in Mindanao, it now led us to contemplate whether the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law would really address the long-standing problem besetting Mindanao,” he added. “What happened to the PNP-SAF troopers is not a misencounter but a massacre.”
Last Feb. 26 however, according to an inquirer.net report, Ejercito said that despite his withdrawal of authorship, he remains open to the BBL’s passage “provided that all component and provisions stipulated should adhere to the 1987 Constitution.” He also said that the Senate “can continue the effort with the next Philippine president” should BBL fail to hurdle Congress in the Aquino administration.
This is even as he said, “The peace effort and the BBL are two different subjects. There is no proof that after the passage of BBL, we would attain lasting peace in Mindanao.”
• Escudero, Francis Joseph “Chiz”, Independent (Team PNoy)
Co-author of proposed BBL (SB2408)
Following the Mamasapano clash, Escudero said that the proposed BBL “will not pass in its current form for sure today, especially under the circumstances, and probably even in the future,” because of the perception that the MILF cannot enforce the rule of law there.
• Honasan, Gregorio B. II, United Nationalist Alliance
Co-author of proposed BBL (SB2408)
Honasan highlighted the importance of transparency and proper documentation in the investigation by consolidating as starting point the project proposal, operational plan, after-incident report, and after-encounter report, including a report from the local government units.
He also warned his colleagues at the Senate against possible threats from “so-called enemies of the Republic” and “other countries, which would develop some interest in the present situation” if the situation continues to be “unmanaged.”
• Legarda, Loren B., Nationalist People’s Coalition (Team PNoy)
Co-author of proposed BBL (SB2408)
He said that the MILF should give priority to clear the Bangsamoro areas of terrorist and private armed groups ahead of the passage of the BBL. “If they can’t do it now with the help of the government, how can they do it when they’re by themselves?”
• Poe, Grace L. Independent (Team PNoy)
Not a co-author of the proposed BBL
In an interview with DZMM’s Ted Failon (read the transcript) last February 6, Poe reiterated the need to continue studying the BBL. The chairperson of the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs, which is conducting the joint inquiry into the Mamasapano clash, Poe said every provision must be studied, especially those that have to do with law enforcement.
She said that she does not agree with calls to stop the BBL because peace will benefit the entire country. But Poe stated her reservations on the current draft of the BBL, particularly those that have to do with domestic security, resource sharing between Bangsamoro and the national government, taxation, and accountability in governance. These aspects, the senator said, must be studied closely.
Poe reiterated these concerns in a Feb. 22 interview with DZBB.
* Pimentel, Aquilino “Koko” III, Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (Team PNoy)
Not a co-author of the proposed BBL.
Following the Mamasapano clash, Pimentel urged Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., chairman of the Senate local government and urban planning committee, to reword the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law “to make it fall within the ambit of the Constitution, and inclusive so that other rebel groups may not have any reason to pursue their own bloody agenda.” This is even as he said that the incident “must not be used as an excuse to dump the peace talks between the government and rebels.”
• Trillanes, Antonio “Sonny” F. IV, Nacionalista Party (Team PNoy)
Not a co-author of the proposed BBL.
Trillanes called on his colleagues not to “overreact.” He also said, “We need to await the results of the investigations, both through the mechanisms of the peace agreement and the internal investigation of the PNP. Until then, let’s suspend any judgment.”
• Villar, Cynthia A., Nacionalista Party (Team PNoy)
Not a co-authot of the proposed BBL.
In March 2014, Villar said that she will support whatever the lawmakers from Mindanao will settle among themselves because they are the ones who will be most affected by the BBL,
After the Mamasapano clash, the search yielded no substantive and definitive statement made by Villar on the BBL. - PCIJ, March 2015
