Cha-cha needed for Bangsamoro sub-state — lawmaker

The country’s Constitution will have to be amended if the government wants to accommodate the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)’s proposal for a Bangsamoro sub-state, a lawmaker said Tuesday. House Deputy Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas said creating a state within a state “is not provided for" under the country’s current charter. “Under our Constitution, there is no such thing as a sub-state. Meron lang ho silang autonomous region that is equivalent to a sub-state. In political law, there is a definition of a state but not of a sub-state," he said at a press briefing. He added that Congress is only allowed to pass legislation creating metropolitan political subdivisions, which will have to be approved via a plebiscite, citing Article X, Section 11 of the 1987 Constitution. Bound to reach SC Fariñas likewise said that the constitutionality of a sub-state is bound to be questioned before the Supreme Court. “Even if Congress will pass a law that will create a state within a state, that will be challenged and the Supreme Court will declare it as unconstitutional dahil hindi naman allowed sa framework ng Constitution natin iyan," he said. MILF chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said Tuesday that the subject of a Bangsamoro sub-state in Mindanao was raised in last week’s meeting between President Benigno Aquino and MILF chairman Al Haj Murad. Aquino and Murad met in Japan last week, where the President supposedly inquired about the MILF’s concept of a sub-state. Both camps, however, continue to be tight-lipped on the details of the secret talks between the two leaders. Improved autonomy Sulu Rep. Tupay Long, for his part, said he personally thinks the government should just “improve" the existing autonomy in Muslim Mindanao instead of creating a separate political division. “I think there is no need for a sub-state. All we have to do is to improve the existing autonomy to meet the aspirations of the MILF," he said at the same press briefing. He, however, commended Aquino’s “sincerity" in solving the decades-old conflict in southern Philippines. “The direct beneficiaries of this move by the President are Muslims in particular. Although this is a Muslim problem, once this will be solved totally, it will benefit not only Muslims but also the entire Filipino people," he said. — KBK, GMA News