CBCP wants BBL guided by ‘social moral principles’

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (Photo courtesy of CBCP)

MANILA — The Catholic Bishops of the Philippines is eyeing for a Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) that is Constitutional and is based on “social moral principles.”

“We do not intend to endorse or not endorse any draft BBL being discussed by  the Philippine Senate and the House of Representatives. But we intend to envision a BBL that is based on and guided by social moral principles,” the CBCP Plenary Assembly said in a statement.

The Catholic bishops of Mindanao added that they stand on the common moral ground of the issue.

The statement also noted the major grievances of Muslim leaders including the “reduction of their ancestral territory, the erosion of their cultural identity, and the loss of self-determination in the development of their communities.”

The bishops added that an all-out war is not the answer to the situation in Mindanao and that both Christians and Muslims in Mindanao aspire for peace.

‘Mistrust’ and the Mamasapano debacle

The bishops added that biases and prejudices has been part of the deep mistrust between Christians and Muslims.

And the said mistrust lead to the tragedy which killed 44 Special Action Force (SAF) commandos.

“It is this climate of mistrust that the horrible human tragedy at Mamasapano, Maguindanao has resurrected. It has placed the peace process and the proposed BBL in limbo.”

Following the incident, the Social Weather Statitons (SWS) found a significant increase on the number of Filipinos who are against the passage of the proposed BBL.

The survey conducted last March 20-23, 2015 showed 48 percent of Filipinos are against the approval of the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law.

It shows an increase from only 27 percent who stood against the law’s passage prior to the Mamasapano incident.

The bishops, however, noted that  the Mamasapano incident must not affect the passage of the BBL.

“But we believe that the Mamasapano disaster must not be equated with the BBL.”

Not this BBL

In the same statement, the bishops also noted the kind of BBL that they do not want.

“On our part, viewing the issues from a moral angle, we do not want a BBL that does not effectively address the root causes of social injustice.”

The following are the cases that the bishops they do not want for a version of a BBL:

– A BBL that does not achieve the centuries-old Bangsamoro aspiration for self-determination

– A BBL that makes the proposed Bangsamoro area of determination less autonomous than the ARMM it is meant to replace

– A BBL that discriminates by not effectively protecting and promoting the rights of minorities, indigenous or not.

– A BBL that will foster ethnic, religious, political and economic discrimination

BBL rooted in social justice

The bishops said that the Bangsamoro framework must be rooted in the moral principle of social justice.

“At the basis of the deep fundamental Bangsamoro aspiration to self-determination in an autonomus region is the moral principle of social justice,” it said.

“Social justice implies the other moral principles of just peace and inter-religious harmony,” it added.

Given the current social climate of “mutual biases and prejudices and mutual charges of injustice,” there lies a demand for “moral consideration.”

The bishops also specifically enumerated the kind of BBL they want in the same pastoral statement:

– A BBL that effectively addresses the injustices suffered by the Bangsamoro as well as the injustices suffered by indigenous peoples and various religious minorities within the proposed Bangsamoro area

– A BBL that concretely achieves the self-determination of the Bangsamoro in an identified area that remains part and parcel of the territorial integrity and under the national sovereignty of the Philippine Republic

– A BBL that promotes harmonious relationship between peoples of various ethnic groups and of different faiths

– A BBL that effectively protects the universal human rights, particularly the rights of IPs  already enshrined in law, and the rights of Christian minorities who fear harassment and further marginalization

– A BBL that responds concretely to the concerns, hopes, aspirations of all stakeholders, of various Bangsamoro groups, and of non-Moro citizens within the new Bangsamoro autonomous region

– A BBL whose provisions are clearly Constitutional, without betraying the intent and spirit of peace agreements

“That is the BBL we envision on the basis of social moral principles of social justice, harmony and peace. It is a vision that goes beyond the proposals now being discussed in our legislature,” the bishops added in the statement.