DAVAO CITY – The Palace said on Thursday that 14 members of the 1986 Constitutional Commission have agreed that the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) follows the 1987 Constitution’s provisions on human development and social justice.
Communications secretary Herminio Coloma Jr., said those who crafted BBL made sure it abides by the Constitution.
“We would like to reiterate that one of the basic principle of the government in crafting and advancing the BBL is that it adheres to the Constitution. Questions on its constitutionality were discussed during the consultations and public hearings,” he said.
Coloma noted that according to 14 Constitutional Commission members, “The core principle of the 1987 Constitution in mandating a special status for the autonomous regions is the human development of the people of Muslim Mindanao and the Cordilleras. Hence, the public conversation should not be about semantics but about people — their needs, their aspirations, their choices — and about empowering them with the environment and institutional framework for social justice. Social justice that calls for genuine social change is the central theme of the 1987 Constitution; and here, it is broader in scope and intent than in the 1973 and the 1935 Constitutions.”
Last January, 14 of the 18 surviving former members of the 1986 Constitutional Commission forged a consensus on the issue of the Bangsamoro.
They are Felicitas Aquino-Arroyo, Adolfo S. Azcuna, Teodoro C. Bacani, Joaquin G. Bernas, Florangel Rosario Braid, Hilario G. Davide Jr., Edmundo G. Garcia, Jose Luis Martin C. Gascon, Christian S. Monsod, Ricardo J. Romulo, Rene V. Sarmiento, Jaime S.L. Tadeo, Wilfrido V. Villacorta, and Bernardo M. Villegas.
