Bangsamoro to replicate Navarre gov’t system

http://tribuneonline.org/index.php/headlines/item/5984-bangsamoro-to-replicate-navarre-gov’t-system



Written by  Fernan J. Angeles and Mario J. Mallari
The Daily Tribune
Tuesday, 23 October 2012 00:00


Government chief peace negotiator and presumably the chief Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) negotiator, along with their staff, are leaving for Spain today and will land in Navarra after Madrid, to study and replicate the legal and government system on which the Bangsamoro legal framework is to be patterned.


Navarra, or Navarre, is located in the northeast side of the peninsula of Iberia in Spain. Navarra, an autonomous region, is surrounded by Aragon in the east, by the Basque Country in the west and by the nearby country of France in the north.


Presidential Peace adviser Teresita Deles in a statement e-mailed to Palace reporters, said  the members of the government peace panel and other government officials will visit Navarra, Spain as a means of preparing for the drafting of the annexes and other details of the framework agreement with the MILF.


The delegation leaves  for Madrid today and from there will travel to Navarra on Oct. 24. Deles claimed  the Navarra trip is crucial in the effort of both the government peace negotiators and the designated panelists of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to finish annexes on power-sharing, wealth-sharing and normalization before the end of the year even as Deles spoke of the resumption of the talks in Kuala Lumpur next month.


In a statement, Deles said the trip will “give insights to the Philippine delegation on how Navarra’s governance works, which can be useful in the drafting of annexes and in further discussions of the details of the signed Framework Agreement.”


Navarre, or Navarra, is a chartered community in Spain that practices a high-degree of self-governance. Nonetheless, it  operates within Spain’s overall structure.


“The visit also hopes to draw lessons and insights relevant as reference to the drafting of the Basic Law of the Bangsamoro. The trip also hopes to inspire models for the yet to be established Bangsamoro set to replace the current (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao),” Deles said.


“Both parties, through their technical working groups, expect to finish three annexes by the end of the year,” Deles said.


A European Union internet page describes the Government of Navarre, or Diputación Foral, thus: It “is the collegial body that, under the leadership of its President, lays down general policy and supervises the Administration of the Comunidad Foral of Navarre. It consists of the President and the Ministers, or Foral Deputies, who are appointed by the President (of the  Navarre government).


“It befalls the Government to wield legislative power and perform executive duties. Likewise, it is responsible for safeguarding the integrity of Navarre’s Regimen Foral, its own system of laws, which is the equivalent in Navarre to the Statues of Autonomy in the rest of Spain. The Navarra “Government is empowered to address conflicts of competencies and to file unconstitutionality proceedings before the Constitutional Court. Furthermore, it exercises those powers that, in terms of Local Administration, are vested in it by the Amejoramiento del Fuero.


“Likewise, it is empowered to enter into international agreements and treaties that affect issues that fall within the jurisdiction of Navarre, as well as the appointment of its representatives to the Board of Co-operation with the State, as well as to whatsoever other public or private bodies or institutions. With the prior authorization of Parliament (of Navarre), the Government is entitled to issue public debt, constitute guarantees and subscribe loans, and to enter agreements with the State and with the other Autonomous Communities.


“The Government lays down the overall policy targets for the Comunidad Foral, approves drafts of foral law, the General Budget, the General Accounts of Navarre, and submits them all to the deliberations of parliament. It orders payments to be made and administers Navarre’s assets.


In addition, the Government may issue Legislative Decrees and approve, by means of a Foral Decree, the regulations for the development and execution of foral legislation and of those laws and provisions of the State regarding those matters whose implementation corresponds to Navarre.


“It also befalls the Government, among other duties, to perform the senior management and inspection of the Administration of the Comunidad Foral and of the public companies and entities attached to the same, and the supreme command of the Foral Police Force.


“The Government is to resign following the holding of elections to the parliament of Navarre, when the latter withdraws its confidence in the President or passes a vote of no confidence or upon the resignation, a definitive ruling on impeachment or death of the President.


“The ministers are appointed by the President. Among their powers, special note should be made of the following: submission for the approval of the Government of the drafts of Foral Laws and drafts of Foral Decrees, the exercise, by means of Foral Order, of statutory powers, the issue of administrative rulings, the authorization of expenditure and payments and the representation of their department.


“The cessation of ministers is to occur when so determined by the President, when Parliament approves a vote of no confidence or withdraws its confidence, or in the event of the cessation of the President, through resignation, a definitive ruling on impeachment or death.


“Navarra, like all other autonomous communities in the country is governed by its own seat of power. The province is very much a part of Spain, but the decentralized structure of the government makes the province independent. Basic government services like social services, health, urban development, employment, environment protection, education and housing are provided solely by the regional government.


Navarra is comprised if 272 municipalities that have a combined population of more than 600,000.


The Navarre government has its own police force.


Government chief negotiator Marvic Leonen earlier said that there will be no timetable in so far as the decommissioning of MILF rebels is concerned, but the process should be finished before 2016.


The annexes will complete the Oct. 15 framework agreement between the government and the MILF.
Once the annexes are finished, both sides will sign a comprehensive peace agreement.


Deles said President  Aquino  will issue an executive order within two to three weeks to create a Transition Commission that will craft and propose a new law for the creation of Bangsamoro, a political entity that will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.


The commission will be composed of eight representatives from the MILF and seven from the government, including a slot for a representative from the Moro National Liberation Front.


Meanwhile, even as there is talk of peace, members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a breakaway faction of the MILF, which recently signed a framework agreement with the government, yesterday engaged responding military troops in North Cotabato province, resulting in one militiaman wounded.


Lt. Col. Benjamin Hao, commander of the 7th Infantry Battalion (IB), said the clash erupted along Barangay Lower Paatan in Kabacan town at around 6:30 a.m. when the military was alerted by concerned residents that BIFF members were tilling their lands.


According to Hao, the soldiers, accompanied by local policemen, were immediately fired upon by the BIFF band, led by a certain commander Kadatuan.


A member of the Civilian Armed Auxiliry (CAA) was wounded during the clash that lasted for about 15 minutes.At around 1:30 p.m., Hao declared the area clear from the BIFF elements.


Hao maintained that the clash with BIFF has nothing to do with the signing of the framework agreement between the government of the Philippines (GPH) and the MILF last Oct. 15.


The BIFF, led by Ameril Umbra Kato, is among the groups being watched closely by government authorities following the signing of the framework agreement by the GPH and MILF last Oct. 15 in Malacanang.


Prior to the signing, the BIFF was branded as “spoiler” of the peace process after launching massive atrocities in Maguindanao province last August at the height of the 30th exploratory talks between the GPH and MILF peace panels in Kuala Lumpur.


The BIFF attacked several military installations in the province, resulting in the killing of five government troops.