BTC assures no change in name of Sulu Sea if Bangsamoro law passes

JOLO, Sulu - The Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) on Thursday assured that the Sulu Sea will not be renamed if the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) is passed by Congress.

In a public consultation held by the Senate subcommittee on BBL here, BTC Commissioner Jose Lorena said there is no truth to reports that the Sulu Sea will be renamed.

“Hindi totoo na wala na ang Sulu Sea. Ang nakalagay ngayon Bangsamoro waters in the Sulu Sea [and Moro Gulf],” Lorena explained.

“Hindi kami papayag na wala ang Sulu Sea sapagkat 'yun ay historical,” he said.

Under Article III, Section 11 of the draft BBL submitted by the BTC, it states that Bangsamoro waters in the Sulu Sea and the Moro Gulf shall extend up to 22.224 kilometers from the low-water mark of the coasts that are part of the Bangsamoro territory.

“The Bangsamoro waters shall be part of the territorial jurisdiction of the Bangsamoro political entity,” it says. The Zones of Joint Cooperation in the Sulu Sea and the Moro Gulf outside of the Bangsamoro waters meanwhile are not party of the Bangsamoro’s jurisdiction.

Former Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan Sr. said the name of the Sulu Sea is very important to their province.

“Kahit hindi kami nakikinabang sa Sulu Sea, kuntento na kami; we are surviving even without benefiting from the Sulu Sea. Basta sabi nga ng mga historian, you can change names but you can never change history,” Tan said.

Senator Miguel Zubiri, chairman of the Senate subcommittee, reiterated his promise to have the draft BBL approved at the Senate on third and final reading by March.

Several other senators attended the public hearing held at the Notre Dame of Jolo College, including Senators Sonny Angara, JV Ejercito, Sherwin Gatchalian, and Risa Hontiveros.

Earlier in Sulu: Senators Migz Zubiri, Sonny Angara, JV Ejercito, Sherwin Gatchalian, and Risa Hontiveros hold public hearing on the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law pic.twitter.com/0Kbv8WW0bf

— KC Alvarez (@kcralvarez) February 8, 2018

“We want the Bangsamoro people to write their own history dahil alam namin na sa kasaysayan, minsan napilitan kayo sa isang institusyon na hindi niyo aprubado,” Angara said.

Gatchalian, for his part, said the BBL will give the province of Sulu the opportunity to be “the driver of [their] own destiny.”

“Ito ay isang pagkakataon na sana ay hindi natin sasayangin,” he said.

The Senate subcommittee on BBL is set to visit Tawi-Tawi Thursday afternoon, and Basilan and Zamboanga on Friday. —KG, GMA News