PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte is serious about making the Bangsamoro Basic Law a reality during his term and has vowed to certify the BBL bill as urgent and to crack the whip on his legislative allies to achieve that goal, Malacañang spokesman Harry Roque said Thursday.
Duterte on Wednesday promised to get the BBL approved because, he said, that would solve the long-festering conflict in Mindanao.
He made his remarks after meeting with the leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the members of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission and the government’s peace negotiating panel in Malacañang before the Cabinet meeting started.
Roque said Duterte will talk to his allies in congress and remind them of the administration’s commitment to pass the BBL, a measure seen by several quarters as key to addressing the decades-long strife in Mindanao.
He said Duterte will ask the leaders of Congress to work on their versions of the bill and to consolidate them, and he will then certify the consolidated bill as urgent.
In a speech in Sultan Kudarat, Duterte said he was keen on having the BBL passed this year as the MILF had given him a deadline that he had agreed to.
“I am racing against time. The MILF is in a hurry and has placed on us the burden of a time line and I agreed on that period,” Duterte said.
