Representative Frederick Abueg of Palawan has formally sought the exclusion of the province from the political entity that would be created under the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law.

The draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), which was submitted by President Benigno Aquino III to Congress last Sept. 10, aims to establish a new Bangsamoro political entity, provide for its basic structure of government and carve out a new Muslim autonomous region.

Abueg, a member of the National Unity Party (NUP) who represents Palawan’s 2^nd district, said that his fellow Palawenos  vehemently oppose their inclusion in the new Bangsamoro government.

To formally manifest his views, Abueg has filed House Resolution 1514, which directs the House Ad Hoc Committee on the BBL “to exclude the province of Palawan and the city of Puerto Princesa in the proposed Bangsamoro entity.”

"History speaks for itself, the people of Palawan consistently resist the inclusion of the province to the ARMM [Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao] in four successive plebiscites held during the time of then President Marcos, Aquino and Ramos, wherein the negative votes there from cast were more than eighty-five percent (85%) of the total votes,"
 HR 1514 states.

Abueg noted that the total population of Palawan, including the City of Puerto Princesa,  as of the 2010 census conducted by the National Statistics Office is 994,340,  with the Muslim population consisting of only seven to eight percent.

HR 1514 also directs the Ad Hoc Committee to include the three representatives of Palawan in the Congress—Abueg,  Franz Joseph Alvarez of the 1^st district (also an NUP member), and Douglas Hagedorn of the 3^rd district—as regular members with voting rights in the Committee.

The BBL Ad Hoc Committee, chaired by Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, was created by the House to handle the exhaustive debates and deliberations involving the Bangsamoro Basic Law. The panel, also dubbed as a “super committee,” is composed of 75 members, which will be a proportionate representation of the majority and minority in the House.

During last week’s hearing held by the BBL panel, Abueg also requested that a copy of House Bill 1514, which spells out the provisions of the  proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law, be forwarded to the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (provincial council) of Palawan and the Sangguniang Panglungsod (city council) of Puerto Princesa.

The BBL committee has approved its Rules of Procedure to guide its deliberations and  agreed to hold public hearings on the proposed Bangsamoro Law five days a week in Zamboanga, Zamboanga Sibugay, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Marawi, among other Mindanao provinces, between Sept. 24 and Dec. 17.