Senator Nancy Binay threw her support behind groups asserting that indigenous peoples’ (IPs) interests and rights be recognized and protected in the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).
“I support the call for the protection of the rights of lumads and for their inclusion in the discussions on the Bangsamoro peace process,” Binay said after 400 tribal leaders from Mindanao convened for a legislative assembly last week.
“It is necessary for the voices of our non-Moro IPs in Mindanao to be heard in the ongoing peace talks as they will also be directly affected by this law,” the legislator added.
The lawmaker believes that the Mindanao Indigenous People’s Legislative Assembly (MIPLA) from August 30 to September 1 was an important venue for discussions on how to include the concerns of lumads on issues of ancestral domain, governance, economy, and justice system in the new BBL version.
“The issue of IPs is one that is close to my heart as I have IP roots by way of my father”, the lady senator said.
Her father, former Vice President Binay, is an Ibanag. His mother, the late Lourdes Gatan, hailed from Cabagan town in Isabela.
Binay said she is hopeful that concerns of non-Moro IP will be considered by the leaders of Congress as well as the BTC after they meet with the Tribal Legislative Assembly, particularly issues on ancestral lands and the recognition of the rights of IPs.
“I really hope that we legislators will make use of the suggestions of the MIPLA so that we may better serve IPs. Tulad na lamang ng suporta na kanilang kinakailangan sa pagbibigay edukasyon sa mga batang lumad,” she urged.
“May pag-aalinlangan ang ating mga kapatid na lumad na hindi naririnig ang kanilang boses sa usapin ng BBL gayong sila mismo ang naiipit sa kaguluhan sa Mindanao at napipilitang lisanin ang kanilang mga tahanan. Sana ay mapawi ng magiging diskusyon sa MIPLA ang kanilang pangamba,” Binay said.
“Makakatulong ang kanilang partisipasyon at mga suhestyon sa ating mga mambabatas upang maging mas epektibo ang bagong draft ng BBL sa layunin nitong maibalik ang kapayapaan at sigla ng Mindanao,” she added.
Last August 7, Congress received the new BBL drafted by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC). The proposed law aims to create a new region to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) as part of the 2014 peace agreement of the government with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).