All Moro Convention group drafts Bangsamoro constitution under federal system

Muslim students arrive for a rally in support of the peace agreement with the government in Cotabato City, on the southern island of Mindanao on March 27, 2014. — AFP PHOTO/TED ALJIBE

DAVAO CITY — A proposed constitution for a Bangsamoro region under a federal system of government will be submitted to the Consultative Committee to Review the Constitution (ConCom), which is currently holding a nationwide roadshow on the draft Constitution.
Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Chair Abulkhayr D. Alonto, in an interview, said the draft Bangsamoro constitution was already submitted to President Rodrigo R. Duterte last June 16.
The draft was put together by the All Moro Convention, headed by lawyer Michael O. Mastura, a historian and a delegate to the 1971 Constitutional Convention.
“The document is seen to build on the gains of such endeavors by including salient inputs from the Bangsamoro sector,” Mr. Alonto said.
The proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), which will create a new political and geographical entity to replace the existing Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, is scheduled for bicameral deliberations in Congress on July 9 to 13.
Once a new constitution is approved, the BBL will be superseded along with the current Constitution, Mr. Alonto explained.– Carmelito Q. Francisco