Rep. Cojuangco: NO to BBL
LINGAYEN-“I will not sign it. I will not go for it, 100 percent no.”
This was the terse reply of 5th district Rep. Kimi Cojuangco, who had withdrawn her support for the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) following the deaths of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) commandos in an encounter with Moro rebels last Jan. 25.
“I want peace like everybody else,” she told local reporters Friday after she spoke at the Women’s Month celebration of the Pangasinan State University held at the Sison Auditorium.
She said before the Mamasapano massacre, as a congresswoman she had read the proposed bill and repeatedly said, “Oh my God, oh my God”, prompting her to do more research.
The whole country gets an Internal Revenue Allotment shared by different municipalities worth P40-billion, she said.
Under the BBL, the Bangsamoro territory which is only about the same population as Pangasinan, is supposed to get P70-billion per year, she said. She added that their leaders will not even have to go to Congress to defend their budget under the BBL.
“Now you tell me, is that correct?” she asked. “Then the Mamasapano happened. The way they killed our soldiers makes me distrust them,” she said.
She added there are many things she disapproves of in the bill.
“I want peace but why are we negotiating with terrorists?” she said echoing the sentiments of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano who delivered a privilege speech last week.
“Even if we do decide to pass it, it will be struck down finally by the Supreme Court so why take the chance?” she added.
She questioned the propriety of continuing congressional hearings on the BBL “ when the rest of the country is in mourning and shock because of what they did to our 44 soldiers,” she added.
“What’s wrong with us?” she said.
Cojuangco posed these questions to pro-BBL: Show me how BBL would result to peace in Mindanao. Will it stop the BIFF? Will it stop all the other terrorist groups from doing what they’re doing?”
“If somebody can answer that convincingly, I will sign. This has been a problem for more than 400 years so I don’t think giving in to terrorists just because they are holding arms is the correct thing to do,” she intoned. (Tita Roces)
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