COTABATO CITY- “It is imperative that the Parliament, within its transition period, enact a law that will define and set the parameters for the exercise of the power of initiative in the Bangsamoro, in so far as regional laws are concerned” said Member of the Parliament Tarhata Maglangit, principal author of a measure that aims to establish a system of initiative in the Bangsamoro region.

Under the Bangsamoro People’s Initiative Act, registered voters of Bangsamoro region are provided with mechanisms to propose, amend or repeal existing regional laws or resolutions through the power of initiative.

Initiative as defined in the proposed measure, is the power as well as the process engaged by the people of the Bangsamoro to directly enact regional legislation through a plebiscite.

“Such a law will operationalize and give flesh to the spirit of the law that sovereignty resides in the people and that all power emanates from them,” Maglangit said.

Registered voters in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region may, through a petition, file a bill with the Bangsamoro Parliament proposing the adoption, enactment, repeal, or amendments of any regional law or resolution.

The petition shall be signed by no less than 2,000 registered voters if the proposition affects matters of regional significance, 1,000 if of provincial significance, 500 if municipal, and 200 of barangay-level significance.

Co-authors of the bill MPs Amenoden Aziz, Denmartin Kahalan, Hamid Malik, Abdulkarim Misuari, Nurredha Misuari, and Atty. Randolph Parcasio, explained that BTA Bill No. 165, reinforces and safeguards this power by ensuring that direct initiatives that comply with the requirements shall be directly approved by the people through a plebiscite, with no need for Parliamentary concurrence or approval.

The proposed bill also outlines the steps for the enactment of the proposition, the review period, the process in circulating the petition and gathering of signatures, the format of the petition, as well as the prohibited subjects of an initiative measure.

In the proposed measure, an Initiatives’ Coordination Office within the Bangsamoro Attorney General’s Office will be created, to coordinate all initiative measures, and to provide the necessary guidance and support to proponents in the procedure.

Any proposition approved through the system of the initiative shall not be repealed, modified, or amended within six months from the date of its approval and may only be repealed by the Parliament after three years.

The Bangsamoro Organic Law mandates that the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region have a democratic political system that allows its people to freely participate in the political processes within its territorial jurisdiction. (LTAIS-Public Information, Publication, and Media Relations Division)