TWO party-list lawmakers and two other personalities on Thursday filed charges against members of the the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panels owing to alleged unconstitutional provisions in the proposed Basic Law on the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BLBAR).
Facing the treason charges, which were filed before Senior Deputy City Prosecutor Eufrosino A. Sulla at the Manila City Hall, were government peace panel members Miriam Colonel-Ferrer, Marivic Leonel, Senen Bacani, Yasmin Busran-Lao, Mehol Sadain, Zenonida Broas. Presidential Peace Adviser Teresita Quintos Deles is also facing charges as part of the Bangsamoro basic law (BBL) Transition Commission.
On the side of the MILF peace panel and BBL Transition Commission, charged were Mohager Iqbal, Datu Michael Mastura, Maulana Alonto, Abdull Camilian, Datu Antonio Kino, Ibrahim Ali, Talib Abdulhamid Benito, Pedrito Eisma, Raissa Jajurie, Froilyn Mendoza, Hussein Munoz, Akmad Sakkam, Said Shiek, Asani Tammang, Timuay Melanio Ulama and Johaira Wahab.
Party-list Rep. Lito Atienza of Buhay, one of the complainants, said the BLBAR is against the 1987 Constitution.
“We have decided to take the matter as a party issue. We have filed a complaint against the government negotiating panel for Treason and Inciting to Sedition. The government, instead of protecting the interest of the Republic, has given in to all the demands of the MILF. This has put the entire nation in a dilemma. Buhay Party-list stands for peace—but it should be achieved in accordance with the Constitution,” Atienza said.
Party-list Rep. Jonathan de la Cruz of Abakada, former Ambassador Jose Romero Jr. and lawyer Jeremy Gatdula are also signatories to the complaint.
The complainants, in their 34-page complaint, said the “acts of the respondents, in executing the Framework Agreement [on the Bangsamoro] and in proposing the BBL, also effectively aided the MILF armed forces to successfully assert their existence as a separate and independent state. Therefore, the respondents must be held liable for the crime of treason…”
“We are not for violence and war. We are for peace. But peace that will continue uniting the nation and not disintegrating it. What they are approving now are provisions which are dangerous, to say the least. The creeping expansion provision was retained; by 10-percent vote, contiguous barangays can opt to join the Bangsamoro later on. The amendment to guaranteeing non-secession of the Bangsamoro later on was stricken down,” Atienza added.