Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH (18") CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No__4003

Introduced by Representative Jose Christopher Y. Belmonte and
Representative Amihilda J. Sangcopan

EXPLANATORY NOTE

First filed in the 17" Congress, the bill was approved by the Special
Committee on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity. It seeks to establish a
Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Program (TJRP) aimed at addressing the
legitimate grievances of the Bangsamoro and marginalization through land
dispossession.

This bill is mandated by the Comprehensive Agreement on the
Bangsamoro (CAB) made between the Philippine Government and the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The CAB states that the two parties must
“work out a program for transitional justice to address the legitimate grievances
of the Bangsamoro people, correct historical injustices, and address human
rights violations and marginalization through land dispossession.” For this
purpose, the Annex on Normalization mandates the creation of an independent
“Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TIRC) to undertake a
study and recommend to the Panels the appropriate mechanisms for transitional
justice and reconciliation.”

The TJRC was officially convened on September 27, 2014. After more
than a year of consultation process that involved community-based “listening
process” sessions, study group reviews of existing research, and policy
interviews with more than 210 Moro, Indigenous, and settler communities in the
Mindanao and Sulu archipelago, involving some 3,000 participants, 40% of
which are women, as well as independent research on specific areas of
relevance in the Bangsamoro context, the TJRC launched its Report in March
2016.

In its Report, the TRC proposes the use of a framework emphasizing the
rights of victims of conflict to truth, justice, and reparations as well as
guarantees of non-recurrence, with the end in view of dealing with the past with
forward-looking perspective. The TJRC proposed a list of recommendations,


which it deems are crucial to finally bring a halt to armed conflict and create
conditions under which a just, lasting, and durable peace can thrive. Foremost
among its recommendations is the creation of the National Transitional Justice
and Reconciliation Commission for the Bangsamoro (NTJRCB). The NTJRCB
is tasked with the implementation and supervision of the TJRP using the
“dealing with the past” framework and promote healing and reconciliation.

Notably, TJRC Report emphasizes that transitional justice ought to be a
national project — one that deals with the legitimate grievances of the
Bangsamoro, while at the same time promoting healing and reconciliation
between the Bangsamoro and the rest of the Filipino people. The TIRC found
that the protracted armed conflict has wedged a deep division between the
Bangsamoro people and Filipinos who do not understand, much less accept, the
legitimacy of the Bangsamoro cause.

The Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Program necessarily includes
the promotion of the concept of transitional justice in Philippine society at large,
with the view of addressing biases and prejudices and developing mutual
understanding among the Filipinos.

In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

.

Hon, Jose Christopher Y. Belmonte se Sno
6" District, Quezon City Partylist


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH (18") CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 4003

Introduced by Representative Jose Christopher Y. Belmonte and
Representative Amihilda J. Sangcopan

AN ACT
ESTABLISHING A TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE AND
RECONCILIATION PROGRAM FOR THE BANGSAMORO,
CREATING FOR THE PURPOSE THE NATIONAL TRANSITIONAL
JUSTICE AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION FOR THE
BANGSAMORO, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the
“Transitional Justice and Reconciliation for the Bangsamoro Act.”

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. — \t is hereby declared the policy of
the State to pursue peace and development throughout the country and to
particularly end the conflict in Mindanao through peaceful means. Towards this
end, the State shall formulate and implement plans and programs, as part of the
peace process, which will address legitimate grievances of the Bangsamoro
people, historical injustices, human rights violations and marginalization
through land dispossession. The State shall further guarantee non-recurrence of
such injustices and violations.

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. -As used in this Act:


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(a) Historical injustice includes acts committed and transactions
entered into by state and non-state actors with the Bangsamoro and other
inhabitants of the Mindanao and Sulu archipelago that have placed Bangsamoro
people at a political and economic disadvantage and, while having occurred in
the distant past, continue to impact their lives today;

(b) Land dispossession includes dispossession by ostensibly lawful
means, such as public land laws but may have been attended by force, duress,
intimidation, stealth, and deception;

(c) Marginalization refers to the political and economic
disenfranchisement that the Bangsamoro people and other inhabitants of the
Mindanao and Sulu archipelagos have suffered due to unjust national laws,
programs, and policies, as well as government neglect and failure to address
destructive and exploitative actions of non-state actors; and

(d) Transitional justice means the full range of processes and
mechanisms associated with a society’s attempts to come to terms with a legacy
of large-scale past abuses, in order to ensure accountability, serve justice and
achieve reconciliation which include criminal prosecutions, truth telling,
reparations programs and institutional reform.

SEC. 4. Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Program for the
Bangsamoro. — There is hereby established a Transitional Justice and
Reconciliation Program for the Bangsamoro, hereinafter referred to as the
“Program,” which shall address legitimate grievances of the Bangsamoro
people, historical injustices and human rights violation, including
marginalization through land dispossession, with the following aims:

a. Provide venues for the victims of conflict to be heard and
mechanisms for the investigation of serious violations of international human
rights law and international humanitarian law, and enable inquiries into specific
events of the armed conflict;

b. Contribute to the resolution of outstanding land disputes in
conflict-affected areas in the Bangsamoro and address the legacy of land
dispossession with concrete measures to provide redress;

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c. Provide effective counteractions to impunity, by promoting
accountability and strengthening the rule of law in relation to past and present
wrongdoings, including crimes identified under international conventions to
which the Philippines is a signatory; and

d. Promote healing and reconciliation among the different
communities affected by the conflict.

SEC.5. National Transitional Justice and Reconciliation
Commission on the Bangsamoro. — There is hereby created a National
Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission on the Bangsamoro,
hereinafter referred to as the “Commission.” The Commission shall design and
formulate mechanisms to implement the Program and supervise such
implementation. In formulating the mechanisms, the Commission shall be
guided by a framework of dealing with the past that respects, protects, and
fulfills the right to truth, right to justice and right to reparation of the victims
and ensure non-recurrence of any violation. For this purpose, the Commission
shall adopt its own operational guidelines and rules of procedure.

SEC. 6. Composition. — The Commission shall be composed of a
Chairperson and four (4) regular Commissioners to be appointed by the
President. The Chairperson shall be responsible for the overall supervision of
the Commission and each of the four (4) Commissioners shall be responsible for
the four (4) sub-commissions under Section 8 of this Act.

The Executive Director of the Commission and two (2) representatives
from civil society who are likewise appointed by the President shall sit as non-
voting members of the Commission. The Chairperson, Commissioners and the
non-voting members must be citizen of the Philippines and of proven
competence, integrity, probity and independence.

SEC.7. Powers and Functions. — The Commission shall have the
following powers and functions:

a. Conduct a nationwide information, education, and dissemination
program for the popularization of the rationale and principles of transitional
justice and reconciliation, as well as its implementing mechanisms;


b. Investigate, study, and recommend measures for the resolution of
cases of individuals and communities adversely affected by armed conflict,
serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, and
outstanding land disputes in the conflict-affected areas, generally and as
provided in the mandates of the sub-commissions. Pursuant to this, the
Commission and its sub-commissions may take testimony or receive evidence,
administer oaths, summon witnesses, and require the production of documents
by subpoena duces tecum;

c. Determine the factors that contribute to impunity in relation to past
and present wrongdoings, and recommend appropriate actions to dismantle
impunity, promote accountability, and strengthen the rule of law;

d. Coordinate with the public and private sectors in the formulation of
short, medium, and long-term programs under a comprehensive approach to
transitional justice and reconciliation;

e. Call upon other government agencies, including government-
owned and -controlled corporations and government financial institutions, for
any support it needs to carry out its mandate;

f. Submit to the President recommendations for further action,
including proposed bills on matters requiring legislative action, when necessary,
to fully implement its proposals and programs; and

g. Perform such other functions as may be necessary for the effective
discharge of its mandate.

SEC. 8. Organizational Structure and Staffing Pattern. — Within
three (3) months from the convening of the Commission, the organizational
structure and staffing pattern shall be formulated and finalized in coordination
with the Department of Budget and Management. To assist the Commission in
the performance of its duties, four (4) sub-commissions are hereby created,
which shall deal with specific aspects of transitional justice for the Bangsamoro:

a Sub-Commission on Bangsamoro Historical Memory, which
shall have the following specific functions:


ii i. To contribute to confidence building in communities affected by
2 the conflict through fact finding and truth seeking, while ensuring their
3 protection, safety and dignity. In particular, the sub-commission shall
4 listen to the testimony of victims in closed or public hearings, in order to
5 collect witness statements and evidence related to specific violent events,
6 with sensitivity to accounts of women who have been victims of gender-
Th based and sexual violence;
8 ii. To investigate serious violations of international human rights
9 and international humanitarian law, focusing, among others, on specific
10 emblematic cases of mass atrocity crimes, of land dispossession, and of
11 conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence to determine whether
12 such forms of violence were practiced as a deliberate strategy of war in
1B the Bangsamoro conflict;
14 iii. To publish series of reports on the results of its investigation and
15 cases of international human rights law and international humanitarian
16 law violations, which include an analysis of the findings and
17 recommendations related to individual, collective, and symbolic forms of
18 reparations, accountability for crimes committed, institutional reforms,
19 and reconciliation; and
20 iv. To establish databases on violations of international human rights
21 and international humanitarian law in the Bangsamoro from 1948 until
22 the present, particularly a database on conflict-related human casualties.
23 b. Sub-Commission against Impunity and on the Promotion of

24 Accountability and Rule of Law in the Bangsamoro, which shall be

25 responsible for the following:

26 i. To identify, investigate, and recommend policies, operational
27 means, and concrete measures to address and overcome practices of
28 impunity at all levels, whether of a technical, political, or financial nature
29 and whether related to past or present wrongdoings; and

30 ii. To request disciplinary procedures against public officials who
31 fail to cooperate or who obstruct justice and the rule of law.

32 c. Sub-Commission on Land Dispossession in the Bangsamoro,

33 which is authorized:


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i. To address issues related to land dispossession, use, and tenure in
the conflict-affected areas in the Bangsamoro by developing or
implementing a dispute resolution mechanism for land conflicts,
including indigenous peoples’ (IPs) claims on ancestral domains, and for
identifying lands where there are competing claimants;

ii. To create a database on actual land ownership in the Bangsamoro
and on land dispossession that may be used to support legal proceedings
and restitution or reparation programs, including cadastral, geo-tagged,
and community-based participatory mapping sets;

iii. To support the overall redesign of land services in the
Bangsamoro by recommending changes in the legal framework and all
procedures related to land titling, registration, taxation, and management,
including the claims of IPs on ancestral domains, for legislation.

d. | Sub-Commission on Bangsamoro Healing and Reconciliation,

which is empowered:

i. To identify and support traditional practices of reconciliation at
the community level;

ii. To develop and promote a meaningful process for national
reconciliation with a view to encouraging cultural and attitudinal change;
and

iii. To support the other three (3) sub-commissions in the
implementation of their mandate by shaping and promoting a
reconciliatory vision for each of them.

Each sub-commission shall cooperate with relevant national, regional,

and local institutions, both governmental and nongovernmental, in the exercise
of its mandate. Moreover, each sub-commission shall ensure the meaningful
participation of women in the processes that will be undertaken, taking into
consideration their experiences relevant to the objectives of transitional justice.

SEC.9. National Consultation Process. — The appointment of

members of the Commission shall be made through national public
consultations.

For this purpose, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace
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Process shall propose to the President a selection and appointment provess for
the members of the Commission. This selection and appointment proce s shall
include the appointment of a selection committee composed of representatives
of national, regional, and local sectoral stakeholders. The selection committee,
after its convention, shall select, from the pool of nominees, the persons who
shall be included in the short lists of nominees from which the President shall
appoint the members of the Commission. The selection committee and the
Commission shall ensure the inclusion of women in its membership,
corresponding to representatives of national, regional and local sectoral
stakeholders.

The Commission, whenever it deems appropriate, shall likewise conduct
national public consultations in formulation of the implementing mechanisms of
the Program.

SEC. 10. Advisory Board. — There is hereby created an Advisory
Board composed of qualified individuals, including women, with proven
expertise in the fields of transitional justice and reconciliation, to be appointed
by the President.

The Commission may likewise engage or contract the services of
resource persons, professionals and other personnel determined by it as
necessary to carry out its mandate.

SEC. 11. Secretariat. - The Commission shall organize its Secretariat,
headed by an Executive Director, which shall provide administrative and
technical support.

SEC. 12. Duration. — The Commission shall operate for a period of six
(6) years from the effectivity of this Act or upon completion of the purposes for
which it was created, whichever comes first. However, it may continue to
operate for additional three (3) years upon the approval of the President.

SEC. 13. Appropriation. — For the initial operating expenses of the
Commission to carry out the mandate of this Act, the amount of One hundred
million Pesos (P100,000,000.00) is hereby appropriated from the Contingent
Fund of the Office of the President on the year this Act is approved. Thereafter,


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it shall submit to the Department of Budget and Management its proposed
budget for the inclusion in the General Appropriations Act.

The Commission is likewise authorized to accept donations,
contributions, grants, bequests or gifts from domestic or foreign sources, for
purposes relevant to its mandate and functions, in accordance with applicable
laws and rules and regulations subject to government accounting and auditing
tules and regulations.

SEC. 14. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within ninety (90)
days from the approval of this Act, the Commission shall promulgate rules and
regulations implementing the provisions of this Act. The implementing rules
and regulations issued pursuant to this section shall take effect thirty (30) days
after its publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

SEC. 15. Repealing Clause. — All laws, orders, issuances, rules and
regulations inconsistent herewith are repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 16. Separability Clause. —If any provision of this Act is
declared unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act or any provision not
affected thereby shall remain in full force and effect.

SEC.17.  Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after
its publication in a newspaper of general circulation or Official Gazette.

Approved,