FORMER North Cotabato Governor Emmanuel Piñol said the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) is not the solution to the decades long conflict in Mindanao. In fact, Piñol said the BBL will only worsen the situation.
“Even Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte who is one of the ardent supporters of the peace process has misgivings about the BBL mainly because of its constitutionality. Second, it is a generic solution to a very unique problem that is the Bangsamoro,” he said
The Bagsamoro is a word that does not apply to every Muslim in the Southern Philippines. The Bangsamoro in Central Mindanao, the Maranaos in Maguindanao are different from the Bangsamoro of the islands,” he said.
Piñol said that giving special power to the Bangsamoro would raise questions of equality among Filipinos.
“If you give that to Bangsamoro, what would prevent the other region from asking the same possession? If you grant so much privilege to a certain group of people in a certain region, it’s not going to be fair for the other regions. The spirit of equality among Filipinos will be lost. It will just be a source of conflict,” he said.