23 March 2015
Our Beloved Legislators:
Greetings of peace in the
Lord!
In the depths of our grief
for all the fallen combatants and civilians at Mamasapano, the deep historic
biases and prejudices that lie in the dark corners of our souls have erupted
once again. Truly we must seek the truth and justice. This search for truth and
the pursuit of justice must be done with objectivity and without prejudgment.
We need to gather all the facts from all sides, from civilian witnesses, from
combatants on both sides.
But in our grief the
Mamasapano tragedy has derailed the peace process. Questions and objections
have been raised against the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law. This is expected
and it must be done so that the BBL will pass the criterion of
constitutionality and the common good of all.
Yet both peace panels have
been demonized. Judgments have been made about the BBL that the BBL itself does
not advocate. These judgments have misinformed the public about the nature of
the BBL and raised public opinion against a document that is the most significant
hope so far of a just and lasting peace in Southern
Mindanao .
As a Catholic religious
leader in Maguindanao, I have closely followed the peace negotiations through
the years, the drafting of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, and
the drafting of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law. I have thoroughly studied
the BBL.
I perceive the BBL as
articulating three major principles: the preservation of national sovereignty,
the safeguarding of national territorial integrity, and the realization of
Bangsamoro self-determination within a limited territory.
Contrary to misinformation
and misinterpretation the BBL does not advocate the dismemberment of the
Republic. It does not lay claim to all of Mindanao and Palawan .
It does not advocate the complete independence of any of the entities of the
proposed Bangsamoro government (e.g., police, auditing, accounting, civil
courts), such that their national counterparts have no effective role over
them.
By all means let the BBL be
refined and attuned to the Constitution.
1.
Let legal and
constitutional experts have a consensus on what is clearly illegal or
unconstitutional in the BBL. Let their wise words guide the rewording of
provisions.
2.
Each provision of
the BBL has been meticulously discussed by the peace panels through several
years at first with mistrust and hostility and then finally in dialogue and
trust. They know the whys and the wherefores of each provision. It would be to
the interest of the common good for them to explain the meaning and the
rationale of provisions that are questioned and objected to.
3.
Let not the BBL
be so emasculated that the centuries-old aspiration of the Bangsamoro for self
determination be made again a meaningless word.
I pray that the Holy Spirit
of God, the Spirit of wisdom, knowledge and counsel guide you in your
deliberations.
As the Catholic religious
leader of an Archdiocese that is 47% Muslim and 48% Catholic, I continue to
grieve profoundly over all the Mamasapano victims, aware that this horrible
human tragedy could have been avoided. I pray for all the fallen, the families,
the widows and children they left behind. I pray that such terrible human
tragedy will not happen again.
The message of the Gospel of
Jesus is one of Mercy and Compassion. Pope Francis announced it to us with
great force and personal witness. And the words of Micah the prophet come to my
mind: “…what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love
kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”
For me, a refined BBL is
about doing the truth and justice, walking in kindness and love, mercy and
compassion. This is the way of the heart, the way to a just and lasting peace.
+Orlando B. Cardinal Quevedo, O.M.I.
Archbishop of Cotabato
No comments:
Post a Comment