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<img loading="lazy" src="https://cdn.kahimyang.com/resources-8/bbl-aquino.webp" alt="$750 million alledged Malaysian lobby" />
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(Malaysian Prime Minister Najib in Malacañang for MILF pact in 2014)
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Experts said the BBL was patently unconstitutional, since it sought to surrender a substate to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The measure was revised and passed as the Bangsamoro Organic Law under President Rodrigo Duterte that granted wide autonomy and self-determination to the Muslim region.
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Kuala Lumpur had brokered the peace accord from start to finish supposedly in earnest to help Mindanao find long-term peace and prosperity, but its agenda is apparently to keep the Philippines off the disputed resources-rich Sabah.
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Then University of the Philippines professor Harry Roque demanded an investigation into the allegations, accusing Aquino and his House supporters of a sell-out.
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Aquino managed to herd his allies in the House of Representatives into passing the BBL, but it failed to hurdle the Senate, whose members wanted to remove provisions of the bill that violated the Charter.
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Roque said the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) has a duty to investigate the allegations:
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"The transfer of this huge amount of money should not have gone unnoticed by the AMLC. Where is their freeze petition now? They were so quick to file for one against the leader of the opposition, VP Jojo Binay."
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Lending some credence to the allegations was that Malaysian politicians then had been in disarray after media reports confirmed Malaysian Prime Minister Razak had $750 million in his personal account that eventually led to his recent conviction.
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On January 25, 2015, the Mamasapano debacle happened, in which 44 Special Action Force troopers died at the hands of rebels, many of whom are members of the MILF. The police force implemented Oplan "Exodus" that neutralized Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli Abdhir alias Marwan.
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The outrage over the incident placed the last nail in the coffin for Noynoy's BBL.
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Roque, who was then a professor at the UP College of Law and the director of the Institute of International Legal Studies, said:
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"If this report is true, this constitutes Malaysia's interference in our domestic affairs, which is a violation of international law." 
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The Philippine claim to Sabah, formerly known as North Borneo, is based on its representation as the successor state of the Sultanate of Sulu, claiming that, despite its lease to the British North Borneo Company in 1878, the territory has never been relinquished.
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Malaysia asserted the territory was ceded to it by virtue of the 1878 agreement, and further, Sabah residents exercised their right to self-determination when they decided to join in the formation of the Malaysian Federation.
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The issue has been dormant for ages, aided by Malaysian exploitation of the corrupt Philippine system to persuade politicians to keep them off the Sulu Sultanate claim.
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Annually, Malaysia issues 5,300 ringgit (or P77,000) to the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu via its embassy in Manila, claiming that said fee is for cession. The Sultan's descendants maintain that the aforementioned payment was for rent, and that the lease agreement actually expired in 1978.
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The compensation stopped after the tragic 2013 attempt of followers of the Sultanate to retake Sabah.
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Princess Jacel Kiram, daughter of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, said Sabah earns for Malaysia at least $72 billion dollars yearly.
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The late Pastor Boy Saycon, the Sultanate's adviser, claimed Malaysia keeps a slush fund worth $3 billion to douse any Philippine attempt to recover Sabah.
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In early 2015, treason charges were filed against President Aquino, some Cabinet members and MILF leaders for supporting the BBL, which they claim seeks only to benefit the MILF.
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Complainants in the treason case alleged the passage of the BBL was in exchange for the Philippines dropping its claim to Sabah.
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<b>Sources:</b>
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Connect the dots, August 3, 2020, The Daily Tribune <a href="https://tribune.net.ph/" class="news_link" target="_blank" title="Source">Commentary</a>
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(We are unable to grant permission for any kind of reproduction of this article other than social media shares.  Please visit the source listed above to read the original article and for more information.)
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$750 million alledged Malaysian lobby: Aquino's BBL was in exchange for PH dropping Sabah claim