On education and the exclusive powers of the Bangsamoro

THE Philippine Ambassadors’ Foundation Inc. (PAFI) supports the objectives of the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) of promoting peace and development in Southern Philippines. These goals cannot be achieved without national reconciliation and, evidently, a key to achieving harmony and unity is education.

The heart of the draft BBL is found in its Article V on Powers of Government (including Education) which treats them under three categories. The first category refers to the Reserved Powers, which the BBL defines as those matters over which jurisdiction is retained by the National Government and which the BBL then proceeds to list as nine powers. This formulation provokes the question whether this list is exhaustive. Such interpretation would be contrary to the Constitution because it provides that the National Government retains all the powers not devolved to the local governments. Congress should therefore insert a statement that this list is not exhaustive, also because the concept of Reserved Powers envisions an indefinite list.