senate hearing on BBL, good job, migs zubiri!

but shame on mainstream broadcast media — press freedom press freedom kayo diyan tapos walang nag-cover sa TV o radyo! and yet and yet may live coverage ng sereno impeachment hearing sa lower house ang ANC!  ano na.  is this their way of making sipsip to duterte’s supermajority in aid of renewing the network’s franchise in 2020?

but seriously, except for tribune.net.ph and mb.com.ph, online media (mainstream and social, including duterte’s comms peeps and trolls) seem to be ignoring developments on the BBL front.  is it deliberate?  meron bang secret memo vs BBL?  from whom?  AND alam ba ito ng presidente?  just a few days before yesterday’s hearing, duterte practically promised that BBL would be passed ahead of shift to federalism. one would think that enough of a heads-up for media to monitor and report the progress (or not) of the matter.

DAVAO CITY —  The law creating the Bangsamoro, the new autonomous political entity that would replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) will be passed this year, ahead of the shift to a federal system of government, President Rodrigo Duterte said.

Duterte told MindaNews in a sit-down interview Friday that the Bangsamoro law should be passed first because “pagka i-amend mo ang Constitution, wala na yan. Wala ka nang barahang ibigay for Mindanao. Mahirapan kang lumusot” (once you amend the Constitution, that’s a goner. You won’t have a card left for Mindanao. It will be difficult to push for its passage).

mabuti na lang at may live streaming from the senate’s website that’s available on youtube, all four hours-plus of it that’s worth checking out if you want to know what certain people and sectors are thinking and saying these days about BBL, given its convoluted and tortuous history.

the jan 23 senate hearing chaired by senator migs (subcommittee bangsamoro, committee on local government) was very well attended, and it was quite a top-notch update on the state of the debate over bangsamoro autonomy.

good of senator migs to ask committee secretary berna mahinay (hope i got her name right) to read out the list of resource persons present, a list i’ve bothered to transcribe if only to show that all sectors were represented.  resource persons were given 3 minutes each to express their sentiments for or against the BBL, in general and/or in particular.

former senate president aquilino “nene” pimentel
hermogenes esperon, national security council)
jesus dureza, presidential adviser onthe peace process
francis tolentino, office of the political adviser
benjamin diokno, department of budget and management (DBM)
nabil tan, deputy adviser on the peace process and chairperson of the GPH implementing panel
tahir lidasan, national commission of muslim filipinos
ricardo david jr., DND undersecretary for defense policy
cesar yano, undersecreatary, defense operations
norman daanoy, chief for legal administrative services
brigadier general raniel t. ramiro, AFP peace and development office
brig general serme ayuyao, judge advocate general
bayani agabin, undersecretary, department of finance (DOF)
ariel ronquillo & krunimar escudero, civil service commission
bartolome j sinocruz,  COMELEC commissioner, deputy director for operations
jose lorena, commissioner, bangsamoro transition commission BTC
mussolini lidasan, commissioner BTC
susana anayatin, commissioner BTC
omar yasser sema, commissioner BTC
mohagher iqbal, commissioner BTC
ibrahim ali, commissioner BTC
raissa jajurie, commissioner BTC
said shiek, commissioner BTC
melanio ulama, commissioner BTC
gafur kanain, commissioner BTC
abdul sakur tan, former gov of jolo, sulu
muedzul lail tan kiram, sultan of sulu and north borneo
hadji duma mascud, chairperson of the sign-BBL movement, sustainable initiatives of grassroots and networks for bangsamoro basic law in cotabato city

sultan of lanao firdausi ismail abbas, not on the list, was also present, as was one who spoke in behalf of indigenous people (IP) na hindi ko na mahanap, sorry.

except for one voice calling on moros to assimmilate instead — no one seconded the motion — the vibes were generally quite positive.  there are contentious issues remaining, of course, and senator migs and co. have their work cut out for them, facilitating the reconciliation of differences for the good of the whole.

kapag naipasa ang BBL, lahat tayo ay panalo, hindi lang ang mga moro.  let’s trust our moro brothers and sisters — it’s the only way to stop war and terrorism in mindanao.  let there not be another marawi.  let there not be any more bakwits.  and may our lost media be found.