04/02/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly economic and trade agreements with other countries; j) The Bangsamoro homeland will have to be exempted from the power of the President to exercise general supervision of all local governments under Section 4, Article X[20] of the Constitution because the MOA-AD does not provide for any such stipulation; k) Since the BJE will have its own laws, it is not subject to limitations imposed by Congress on its taxing powers under Section 5, Article X[21] of the Constitution; l) R.A. No. 6734 and R.A. No. 9054, or the ARMM Organic Acts, have to be amended to allow for the existing ARMM to be included within the Bangsamoro homeland to be governed by the BJE; m) The Bangsamoro people will have to be exempted from the application of R.A. No. 8371 or the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) insofar as the MOA-AD declares the Bangsamoro territory as ancestral domain and recognizes in the Bangsamoro people rights pertaining to indigenous peoples under the IPRA; n) Existing laws which regulate mining rights and the exploitation of natural resources will also have to exempt the BJE from its coverage, as the MOA-AD grants the BJE the power to utilize, develop and exploit natural resources within its territory as well as the authority to revoke or grant forest concessions, timber licenses and mining agreements; and o) The BJE will also have to be exempted from existing agrarian statutes as the BJE is empowered to enact its own agrarian laws and program under paragraph 2.e[22] on Resources. From the foregoing, it is clear that the substantive provisions of the MOA-AD directly contravene the fundamental law and existing statutes. Otherwise, it would not be necessary to effect either statutory or constitutional amendments to make it effective. Moreover, as correctly pointed out by petitioners, the GRP panel exceeded its authority when it categorically undertook to make these statutory and constitutional changes in order to fully implement the MOA-AD. Paragraph 7 of the MOA-AD on Governance states that provisions therein which require amendments to the existing legal framework shall come into force upon signing of the Comprehensive Compact and upon effecting the necessary changes to the legal framework. These “necessary changes” shall be undertaken “with due regard to non-derogation of prior agreements and within the stipulated timeframe to be contained in the Comprehensive Compact.” The language of the aforesaid paragraph 7 on Governance, in relation to paragraph 2 (d) on Territory, indicates that the GRP panel committed itself to cause the necessary changes to the legal framework within a stipulated timeframe for the MOA-AD to become effective. Paragraph 2(d) on Territory reads: 2. Toward this end, the Parties enter into the following stipulations: elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/47263 84/203

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