Mindanao Examiner 317

Supreme Court sets arguments on BOL

WHILE THE Supreme Court has not issued any temporary restraining order on the plebiscite for the Bangsamoro Organic Law or BOL, it has set oral arguments on the controversial law in response to twin petitions filed by Sulu Gov. Toto Tan and the Philippine Constitutional Association questioning its legality and Constitutionality. The oral arguments are expected next month where the second referendum is set by the Commission on Elections in the Muslim autonomous region where residents would be asked again whether they approve or not the BOL as provided under Republic Act 11054 signed by President Rodrigo Duterte.

The High Court has asked the following respondents Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Senate President Vicente Sotto and Speaker Gloria Arroyo, among others, to respond to the petitions before deciding on the plea of the petitioners for the issuance of a temporary restraining order and the merits of the case. The BOL, if ratified, shall replace the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao or ARMM - composed of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur - with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao or BARMM under the rule of the rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front or MILF. The MILF signed an interim peace deal with Manila in 2014 which paved the way for the drafting of the Bangsamoro Basic Law and was signed by Duterte and became what is now known as BOL.

But Duterte is also pushing for a change in form of government - from presidential system to federal – and even threatened to make Mindanao a federal region if lawmakers fail to amend the Constitution to pave the way for new government. He said the current unitary system has spelled so much trouble.

When he was mayor in Davao City, Duterte had been strongly campaigning for the establishment of a federal form of government and in many of his public appearances and speeches the President said federalism is the next best thing for the country. He also vowed to step down - even before his term ends on 2022 - as soon as the new federal government is fully functional. Duterte’s stand virtually reinforced Sulu’s strong support to the President’s firm stand and advocacy for a federal government. In October last year, the Department of the Interior and Local Government or DILG conducted a road show to raise public awareness on the proposed shift to a federal form of government. It held a forum for 2 days dubbed “Pederalismo para sa Tunay na Pagbabago.”

In the proposal of the Constitutional Commission as stated in Article XI, the federal republic will have 18 regions, 16 of which will be symmetrical. The Muslim and Cordillera regions will have asymmetrical setups due to provisions of their autonomy which recognizes ethnicity, culture, customs, traditions, language and distinct identities.

Federal state of BaSulTa

Muslim leaders and various stakeholders in Mindanao have been pushing for the separation of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi from the ARMM and instead include the provinces in Zamboanga Peninsula to form part of a federated states should Congress approve the proposed federalism government. The three neighboring provinces were originally part of Region 9 in Western Mindanao which is comprise of Zamboanga City, Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga del Norte, and now the addition of Zamboanga Sibugay.

In a consensus held only this year, stakeholders from Zamboanga Peninsula, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Maguindanao trooped here to read their manifesto as a show of strong support to the proposal for the creation of ‘Federal State of Zam- BaSulTa’.

Justifications

Among the valid justifications for the proposed Federal State of ZamBaSulTa are Economic Viability and to ensure this is to group together Zamboanga Peninsula with Zamboanga City as the center, and Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi; Historical Reality as the shared history of the area and proposed federal state is a strong argument for its unity as one federal state. This history stems from the once dominant force exerted by the Sulu Sultanate over these areas, including Southern Palawan and the islands of Sulu and South China Seas, but the consensus also maintained that this is not to say the Sultanate of Sulu will again lay claim to these areas, instead, the region is now witness to different operative local government units that wield the real power and that cannot be changed.

It also cited other justification for the union such as Geographical Proximity because the provinces and Zamboanga City is contiguous to each other by land, and Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi are situated next to each other like a chain of island south of the Zamboanga Peninsula. And Demographic and Cultural Identity because of similarity in culture and peoples – Muslim and Christian relationship, education and interfaith engagements have strengthened this identity in the region.

At least 5 influential Sulu sultans, Ibrahim Bahjin, Muizuddin Jainal Bahjin, Muedzul-Lail Tan Kiram, Mohammad Venizar Julkarnain Jainal Abirin and Phugdalun Kiram who are part of the Royal Council of the Sulu Sultanate, also attended the event dubbed - “The Bangsa Sug Consensus – ZamBaSulTa. A People of Significance.” - and threw their all-out support for the proposal along with Muslim religious leaders led by the Grand Mufti, His Eminence Abdulbaqi Abubakar.

Zamboanga City Vice Mayor Cesar Iturralde, who represented Mayor Maria Isabelle Salazar, read a message in front of some 1,500 people. Christian and Muslim political leaders, among them former Sulu Governor and a strong ally of Duterte, Dr. Sakur Tan - also called Datu ShahBandar – and his son, the governor of Sulu, spoke in the event.

Consensus

The Tan patriarch, in a position paper he read before the huge crowd, enumerated several concerns and reaction of Muslims to the proposed Bangsamoro Bill and federalism. He said the main objections of the people of Sulu through its Sultanate to the proposed Bangsamoro law center on the provisions on Territory that would change the historical name of the Sulu Sea to “Bangsamoro Waters.” He said Sulu Sea should retain its name.

Tan said the constituents in the provinces under the ARMM (including Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao) should be given the option to vote against inclusion in the proposed Bangsamoro entity. “The position is anchored on the principle of democratic consultation which is an essential element of plebiscites and a basic concept in Islam, as embodied by the principle of Shura (or consultation) in the Holy Qur’an.”

“The method of plebiscite and the counting of votes should be based on real democratic consultation and should not be hampered by what may be considered as the tyranny of the majority,” the elder Tan said. He said the present version of the bill provides that the establishment of the Bangsamoro and the determination of the Bangsamoro territory shall take effect upon ratification of the Basic Law by majority votes cast in plebiscite. The present bill, Tan said, takes for granted that all five constituent provinces favor inclusion in the new Bangsamoro entity.

“This should never be presumed because presumption destroys the democratic essence of plebiscites. Precisely for the reason that the Bangsamoro entity is new, and is not just an amended version of the ARMM, the consent and option of the ARMM constituent provinces should be respected,” he said.

Tan said when the constituent provinces voted for inclusion to the ARMM in past plebiscites, they consented to be included in the ARMM, and not in the Bangsamoro which is completely new legal entity. “Ratification therefore should be on the basis of the majority votes of each constituent province and not of the entire geographical area of the present ARMM,” he said. He said the territorial lines of federalization should not be dictated by religious dogma for this would be limiting, counter-productive and contrary to the spirit of nationhood. “The federal territorial divide is not a divide of peoples and religions; it is a realistic and practical divide of administration and governance, so that the people get the best and most viable governance that befits their needs and circumstances,” Tan said, adding, a copy of the consensus was submitted to the House of Representatives and Senate, and the Palace. (Mindanao Examiner)

Duterte, inindorso si ex-Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan, iba pa

Sulu Gov. Sakur ‘Datu Shabandar’ Tan and President Rodrigo Duterte

ABOT-ABOT ang pasasalamat ni dating Sulu Governor Sakur Tan sa malaking tiwala sa kanya ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte at sa nag-uumapaw na suporta ng pilantropong Tausug leader at mga opisyal ng lalawigan sa administrasyon.

Si Tan ay kilalang supporter at malapit kay Duterte at muling tumatakbo bilang governor sa Sulu sa darating na eleksyon. Mismong si Duterte ang nag-endorso kay Tan bilang governor ng lalawigan na kabilang sa Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Ang personal na endorso ni Duterte kay Tan kahit pa na malakas ito sa Sulu. Madalas rin nakikipag-usap si Duterte kay Tan ukol sa iba’t-ibang isyu sa Mindanao.

Matatandaang si Tan ay tumiwalag sa grupo ni Pangulong Benigno Aquino at 2016 presidential candidate Mar Roxas upang ikampanya ang kandidatura ni Duterte hindi lamang sa Sulu, kundi maging sa Basilan, Tawi-Tawi at iba pang bahagi ng Mindanao.

Respetadong political leader si Tan na siya rin Special Envoy at Spokesman ng Royal Council of the Sulu Sultanate na binubuo ng lahat na 5 ma-impluwensyang Sultans of Sulu and North Borneo na sina Sultan Ibrahim Bahjin, Muizuddin Jainal Bahjin, Muedzul-Lail Kiram, Mohammad Venizar Julkarnain Jainal Abirin, at Phugdalun Kiram.

Suportado rin ni Duterte si Sulu Governor Toto Tan na tumatakbo naman bilang vice governor.

Muli naman nagpahayag ng suporta ang mga mayors ng Sulu sa administrasyong Duterte at sinabing nasa likod rin sila ng mga Tan. (Mindanao Examiner)

Urban poor groups thank Zambo Mayor Beng, City Council

Mayor Beng Climaco

ZAMBOANGA CITY – Local urban poor organizations members have thanked popular and re-electionist Mayor Beng Climaco and the City Council for heeding to their appeal for a resettlement site for poor families and informal settlers, especially victims of calamities and conflict. Marissa Aizon, president of the Zamboanga City Homeowners’ and People’s Organization Federation Inc., (ZCH-POFI) said the proposed resettlement site in Barangay Talisayan will benefit many beneficiaries of the urban poor. Aizon said they do not meddle with the processes of how the local government would acquire the land for resettlement sites. “Actually, recommendation lang del (urban poor) sector, del federation. No preference as to where, how much, basta el de amon ta pidi, dale ya el lote para resettlement site,” she said.

She said it was only in the administration of Mayor Beng that the local government acted on the dire needs of the poor for shelters. “El carta recommendation from the urban poor sector addressed con el govierno que ta pidi kame lote para resettlement site, actually dos carta era se, el uno na east coast y el otro na west coast.

“El clamor del sector antes pa siguro maga 18 años ya el que ya pasa. Ta pidi ya gayot kame se y cuantos Housing office chief ya sinta amo gayot el clamor del sector para intendido for resettlement site,” Aizon said in a recent television interview.

Aizon said they have been talking to informal settlers and brought their predicament and appeals to various government agencies to act on their long sought housing facilities. “Ta servi kame linkages or bridge as an (urban poor) sector del diferentes urban poor association and home association. Ta lleba kame maga cosa necesita (del maga pobre) na (atencion) del maga ahensya gobyerno consierne, now timely ya hace kame el carta and upon the approval y el tax amnesty which ya hace kame tamen el request del urban poor sector and granted naman and so thank you.”

“So upon the approval of that ordenanza, ya hace ya tamen yo otro carta para con el govierno (local) que ta pidi kame para this time dale ya lote para lang na Districts 1 and 2. Now, no lo se yo si donde (el resettlement site) basta el de amon recommendation, ya dale ya lote. So gracias kay ya dale ya,” she said.

Aizon said the letter she wrote to Mayor Beng was upon the recommendation of their group. “In this connection, the federated UPA’s, NGO’s, and PO’s is requesting your kind gesture to support through the undersigned to acquire lands to be developed into a resettlement sites of the city aimed at providing decent shelter and secure land tenure for the under privileged and homeless informal settlers families of the city. Your most favorable actions anent this humble request are very much anticipated,” part of the letter reads.

Aizon’s groups also held many meetings with their members and various government agencies to bring the issue of the need for resettlement locations for the urban poor. “ El Board (of Directors del ZCH-POFI), el (maga) oficiales prinsipiya na Chairperson y junto na Board of Directors, ta conduci el de amon maga meetings, so apart from the board meetings. Tiene kame assembly meetings, tiene tamen kame inter-agency meetings meaning todo ahensya del govierno will represented by their department heads,” she said.

Paid black propagandists and their army of trolls and even political opponents of Mayor Beng have questioned the proposed resettlement site, citing a report by the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology that the Talisayan area is prone to tsunami which can occur if there is a massive earthquake. But they did not say that a large part of Zamboanga is also prone to such a powerful series of waves due largely to the city’s topography, especially in the coastal areas. And not all earthquakes would trigger a tsunami.

“Tiene man maga personas experto, para mira con el lote. Kame basta ya recomenda, sila buska, sila man negotiate, y si ready ya, man develop ya (el resettlement site). Entra ya maga naka-pipeline, na program beneficiary na resettlement. Amo lang el de amun concern. Ya recomenda lang kame so as to the deliberation for the approval (of the purchase) and identifying the lot, nohay mas ya kame (alle),” Aizon said.

“As long as buildable y talla el maga basic services, pati puwede gayot, suitable for socialized housing I must say, basta suitable socialized housing. Siguro quien man tambien miembros o victim del calamidad man refuse para entra na relocating site,” she added. Aizon said she is sure that the government will provide all the necessary safety precautions from the housing project itself and other basic infrastructure at the proposed urban poor resettlement site. “Tiene maga agencias de govierno cay puwede man implement con ese. Tiene se maga ingenieros or engineers,” she said.

A member of the ZCH-PO- FI, Editha Talosig, also said that even the whole of San Ramon, where the Zamboanga City Special Economic Zone or Zamboanga Freeport Authority is located, is prone to tsunami just like other areas in Mindanao, Visayas and Luzon and other parts of the world.

“Example el San Ramon, alle lang gat na custao (del mar) el maga vivientes y nohay man cosa alla ta pasa. Yun tsunami maskin saan yan, kahit mga tao sa Talisayan nandoon lang yun. So ang iniisip namin puwede rin ang resettlement doon, marami ang nakatira doon (sa Talisayan). Yun ang iniisip namin, for example, yun San Ramon wala naman nangyari (ng tsunami doon) kaya nga sa akin okay doon (sa Talisayan). Abelardo Tarroza, ZCH-POFI assistant secretary, said they really appreciated the deep concern of Mayor Beng for the poor and her sincerity in helping them by providing resettlement sites to those who needed it most. “Ta pidi gat kame gracias na de atun Mayor cay el carta (del urban poor members) yan action le dayun. Cay bien manada de atun maga pobre vivientes ta queda lang nohay tierra y grande ya se oportunidad para con ellos nohay tierra,” he said.

Following their honest statements regarding the proposed Talisayan resettlement area, supporters of Mayor Beng fear that black propagandists and her foes may spend a huge amount of money to pay out for people to either attack or discredit Aizon, Talosig and Tarroza or even their group whose members could reach over 20,000. And spread fake news on Facebook and pay the social media giant to buy “likes” and boost their false information for their own selfish and vested interest. (BC PR)

Sayyafs free Indon hostage, but still hold more

SULU – Abu Sayyaf militants have freed an Indonesian fishing crew member after more than 4 months in captivity in southern Philippines, but the group continues to hold nearly a dozen more local and foreign captives.

The militants released the 40-year old Samsul Sanguni in a remote village in Sulu, one of 5 provinces under the Muslim autonomous region. It was not immediately known who negotiated for his freedom and how much ransom was paid to the Abu Sayyaf in exchange for his life.

Malaysian media earlier reported that the Abu Sayyaf had demanded P20 million from Sanguni’s employer and militants threatened to kill him if ransom is not paid. In a video sent by militants to his family, Sanguni appealed to his employer to save him from death. The clip shows Sanguni - both hands tied behind his back - inside a freshly dug hole in a forested area and guarded by heavily armed militants as he cried and pleaded for help.

Sanguni along with another Indonesian fisherman, Usman Yusuf, were kidnapped at sea near Gaya Island in Sabah’s Semporna town and brought to Sulu. The 35-year old Yusuf was freed in December in Bual village in the town of Luuk. The release of Yusuf came after the Chief of the Indonesian Consul-General’s Office in Sabah, Sulistijo Djati Ismojo, appealed to Malaysia to resolve the kidnapping of its citizens.

It was unknown whether ransom had been paid to the kidnappers in exchange for Yusuf’s release. In September, the Abu Sayyaf had previously released four Indonesian hostages to Nur Misuari, chieftain of the former rebel group Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and his wife Tarhata; and a former Indonesian army general Kivlan Zein.

But despite the anti-terror campaign in Sabah, Abu Sayyaf militants still managed to kidnap three more Indonesian fishing crew members off Sabah and had been taken to Sulu, Malaysian media reported. It said the trio - Heri Ardiansyah, 19; Jari Abdullah, and Hariadin, 45, were working for a fishing company in Sandakan town and had been seized by 7 gunmen on the night of December 5 near Pegasus Reef – an area where four armed men also attacked a tugboat two days later and wounded an Indonesian crew in what police said was a failed abduction.

Sabah police, citing intelligence sources, said identified the kidnappers as Abu Sayyaf commanders Al Mujir Yadah and Hajan Sawadjaan, who teamed up with another militant commander, Indang Susukan. The group was tagged as behind the spate of ransom kidnappings in the waters of Sabah and attacks on fishing boats there.

The militants have been targeting Indonesian fishermen because their employers and Jakarta are paying ransoms to the Abu Sayyaf which it uses to purchase weapons, recruit members and to finance kidnappings and terror attacks in the country. The Abu Sayyaf is still holding nearly a dozen foreign and local hostages in the restive region. (Mindanao Examiner)

Wooden boatmaking embraces Mindanao life, culture

Wooden boat in progress.

IN A coastal barangay located 35 kilometers from downtown Zamboanga City, one could witness a craft that has existed in the region since time immemorial - boatbuilding. The boatyard there is one of a handful that can be found along the city’s long coast, including in one island.

Since local pre-history, the inhabitants have been building a great variety of wooden boats used for fishing, trading and rituals, among others.

According to legend, the first royal datus in the country traveled by boats from Indonesia to establish pre-Islam and pre-Spanish sultanates in different parts of the archipelago.

A Tausug sultan, centuries ago traveled by boat -- likely a parao or long balanghai -- to China to visit the kingdom’s emperor.

Tausug in English means “people of the current”. The Badjaos are called sea nomads who until recent times lived in houseboats all their life.

The Sangali boatyard is located in Sitio Malasugat, along a large cove where the Zamboanga Fishing Port Complex and an adjacent ship repair yard -- a varadero -- are also found.

The cove teems with many fishing boats that unload catches bound for refrigeration plants of the complex, to be shipped out to other provinces in Mindanao or the extras or rejects to be sold in local markets.

At the boatyard a few days before Christmas, shipwright Embass Abdurasid and his assistant rushed to finish a wooden-hulled “tempel”, a fast-running type of boat.

The boat is 48 feet long, 11 feet deep from gunwale (topside) to keel (or spine), and five feet from side to side at widest point.

The ribs are made of thick lauan boards bolted together to form the boat’s V shape body, though the rear is flat bottomed to give stability to the seacraft.

Embass said the body’s skin is made of three-eight (inch) waterproof marine plywood nailed to the ribs and caulked with epoxy to seal out the seawater.

When the main body is finished, Embass said he will also build a pilot house and flooring, which will be waterproof.

Another contractor will do the painting, and another one will install the engine and other navigational accessories.

The engine is a marine diesel with a 90-horsepower capacity, he said.

Embass said it will take him three months to finish the construction. The boat is owned by a Tausug businessman who will utilize it to ferry cargo and passengers between Jolo and nearby islands in Sulu province.

Embass said wooden boats are preferred in the region than boats made of fiberglass.

Fiberglass, he said, is prone to cracking in the tropical sun of the region.

Near the area where Embass is building his boat are two newly finished tempels, too, both seemingly ready to challenge the Sulu Sea.

Other types of wooden motorboats common in the region are the kumpit, junkung and lepa-lepa.

The kumpit are normally large enough to carry tons of cargo (like smuggled rice from Malaysia) or company-size passengers.

Today, they compete with steel-hulled motor launches that ply around the archipelagic region including Sabah ports.

The junkung is usually bigger than the tempel but smaller than the kumpit, is used to ferry passengers or cargo between shorter distances. The Moro rebels who attacked Zamboanga in 2013 rode a junkung from Sulu to the city.

The lepa-lepa (or simply lepa) is a round-bottom tempel-size craft native to Tawi-Tawi and more commonly found there, popular to the local Samas.

Once upon a time, the Badjaos used paddles to move them around as their houseboat. Now, there are bigger versions that use inboard engines as commercial vessels.

Their round bottom makes them almost impervious to capsizing, sliding from wave to wave even in a heaving sea.

Other types of boats seen in the region is the basnig, kulibo, buggoh, and the iconic vinta.

The basnig is a slimbuilt fishing boat with outriggers and tall masts. The kulibo is a small fishing boat with short outriggers and fitted with an inboard engine. The buggoh is a banca that uses a paddle to move about and is called a pumpboat if powered by an engine instead of paddle. The vinta is a sailboat, often romantically portrayed in seascape photos about the region. (Rey-Luis Banagudos, PNA)