The Philippine Congress has run out of time to pass under the current president’s term a Muslim autonomy bill that aims to peacefully settle a decades-long Muslim rebellion in the south, sparking concerns the setback might ignite new fighting, officials said.
Senators and members of the House of Representatives had until yesterday to deliberate on the bill before they start a three-month break at the end of the week.
The long-delayed bill is at the heart of a peace deal signed by the largest Muslim rebel group in the south and the government of Philippine President Benigno Aquino III, whose term ends in June.
The killing of 44 police commandos in fighting that involved some of the guerrillas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front early last year scuttled the early passage of the Muslim autonomy bill outlined in the 2014 peace deal.
The separatist conflict in the southern Philippines has left 150,000 people dead and stunted development in the country’s poorest region.
While the Malaysian-brokered peace deal remains effective, a new autonomy bill would have to be presented to the new Congress under Aquino’s successor.
The presidential election is on May 9.
Senior rebel leader Mohagher Iqbal has said that delays in the passage of the autonomy bill and efforts to water it down have sparked “frustration” among guerrillas and Muslims in the south.
Residents have staged rallies to protest the delays in the bill’s passage in two predominantly Muslim cities.
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