Nun questions timing, motives behind SC case vs FAB, CAB

KIDAPAWAN CITY -A religious nun who is active in a non-government organization based in Mindanao has questioned the timing and motives behind the petition filed before the Supreme Court against the legality of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) and Comprehensive Agreement on theBangsamoro (CAB). Sister Arnold Maria Noel, member of the Board of Directors of the Balay Rehabilitation Center, said the petitions suffer from credibility because these should have been filed before the start of the decommissioning of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).” On Friday, the Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa), led by Leyte Representative Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, former National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales under Arroyo administration, and former Senator Francisco Tatad, asked the Supreme Court to declare unconstitutional the FAB and the CAB. Sister Noel said Romualdez and Gonzales are leaders of the National Transformation Council (NTC) whom she considered as anti-Aquino administration. The FAB, preliminary peace agreement signed in Malacanang on October 15, 2012, called for the creation of an autonomous political entity called Bangsamoro, replacing the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The CAB, on the other hand, was considered a final peace agreement signed between the Philippine government and the MILF on March 27, 2014 in Malacanang, wherethe MILF agreed to turn over their firearms to a third party, which would be selected by the rebels and the Philippine government. Sister Noel said they were expecting petitions to be filed against the BBL after the international community and foreign government were praising the MILF for the decommissioning of their firearms and weapons. Again, I question the timing. If they referred to the FAB and CAB, why question only now.A quick glance at the petitioners will make one raise eyebrows,” she said. Sister Arnold also questioned the credibility of Romualdez due to his alleged connection with Senator Ferdinand ‘Bong-bong’ Marcos, chair of the Senate committee on local government that reviews the proposed BBL. Tatad”, she said, was a Cabinet minister during the administration of the late President Marcos and a member of the conservative Catholic group Opus Dei, who, like Gonzales, is a member of the NTC that had been advocating the ouster of President Benigno S. Aquino III and the establishment of a revolutionary government.” Sister Noel, using as basis the findings of the Peace Council Cluster on Constitutionality head by former SC Chief Justice Hilario Davide, said the BBL was constitutional and a fulfillment of the constitutional principle of social justice and regional autonomy for Mindanao and Cordillera.