Rex Education is set to publish the first comprehensive law book that will tackle the details of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), including its interplay with the Philippine legal system.
Titled Moral Governance: An Introduction to the Bangsamoro Organic Law, the book will be published in collaboration with five distinguished lawyers and authors: Atty. Mohammad Muktadir Ahmad Estrella, Attorney VI, Chief of the Legal Services Division of the Civil Service Commission for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and senior lecturer at the University of the Philippines Manila and Notre Dame University College of Law; Atty. Joss Allen M. Pilapil, Partner at PALM Law; Atty. Jake Ogario Leoncini, Partner at PALM Law; Atty. Xavier Alexen R. Aseron, Partner at PALM Law; and Atty. Kevin Buen L. Marquez, Associate Solicitor at the Office of the Solicitor General.
The BOL is a landmark legislation that was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on July 26, 2018, abolishing ARMM and providing a regional government for the BARMM. It aims to bring peace by addressing the grievances, sentiments, and demands of Muslims in the region.
Unfortunately, the law is fairly new, its ratification followed almost immediately by the challenges presented by the COVID-19 Pandemic. Thus, there is little literature that dives into the specifics of the BOL.
“This is a peace legislation that is aimed to bring just peace in Muslim Mindanao by addressing centuries worth of historical injustices committed against the Bangsamoro. The Bangsamoro Government is the only parliamentary form of government in the Philippines. Thus, there is an existing need and interest to explain how a parliamentary set-up in an autonomous regional government works in a presidential form of national government within the parameters of the 1987 Philippine Constitution,” the authors share about the importance of the publishing of Moral Governance: An Introduction to the Bangsamoro Organic Law.
To aid students and practitioners of law, the book aims to introduce a unified understanding about the direct relationship between Bangsamoro history and existing legal mechanisms within the 1987 Philippine Constitution that recognize autonomy in Muslim Mindanao.
“In the current national social and political landscape, while there is general perception about the issues concerning the peace and order situation in Muslim Mindanao, there is little to almost non-existent understanding about how the Bangsamoro Organic Law directly addresses the root causes of the conflicts in the said region. It is high time that the rest of the nation finally understands that the historical injustices committed against the Bangsamoro were always justified by various legal instruments. Hence, it is also only by law that these wrongs may be justly corrected,” the authors add.
Rex Education has always been on the forefront of lifelong learning, as seen in its comprehensive Edukampyon campaign. The goal of the advocacy is to inspire all schools, all teachers, and all partners in learning to become duty bearers and help shape whole Filipino learners who are healthy, safe, engaged, supported, challenged, and values-oriented.
The book is in production and is set to release in the second half of the year. When the book is published, it will be available on Rex Book Stores nationwide and through the Rex E-store at https://www.rexestore.com.
