SENATOR Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Friday he is unsure if his committee will be able to submit an amended version of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) before the end of the regular session of Congress on June 11, as Senate President Franklin Drilon wants.
Marcos, chairman of the Senate committee on local government, has scheduled hearings on the BBL in Jolo, Sulu and Zamboanga City on May 13 and 14.
members and supporters of the Royal House of the Sultanate of
Buayan Darussalam, Sultanate of Kabuntalan Darussalam, Sultanate
of Barongis Darussalam, and Sultanate of Madanding in support of
the passage of the original version of the Bangsamoro Basic Law.
The event was held at the Grand Mosque in Kalanganan, Cotabato
City. Mark Navales
Drilon had earlier said he expects the committee to wrap up its hearings in the next two weeks, so that the Senate as a whole can begin debates on the Palace-proposed bill to create a new autonomous entity in Mindanao called the Bangsamoro.
But Marcos said it was more important that his committee submit an improved and amended version of the law, rather than to hew to the Palace timetable.
“Our decision is we will do everything. We will not rush. What is more important is to come out with a right version rather than meet the deadline,” Marcos said.
He added that the timetale of the legislative process would depend on how the plenary debates go.
“The question there is what will happen at the plenary level? Although we finish it before June, if the debates are long, that will determine exactly when we would finish.”
Hearings on the BBL resumed May 5, when the committee discussed the findings of the Palace-supported Peace Council.
The Council, created upon President Benigno Aquino III’s suggestion, said the BBL needed “refinement and fine tuning” but described the draft law as a way to correct injustices of the past.
The BBL stalled in Congress after the Jan. 25 Mamasapano incident in which 44 police commandos were killed by Muslim rebels, including those from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), with which the government is in peace talks.
In the House, an opposition leader said congressional leaders were uncertain if they had enough lawmakers to secure approval of the BBL.
House Deputy Minority Leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares expressed hope that House members would vote on the BBL based on their conscience and merits of the bill, and not because of the Palace’s influence over them.
The 75-man ad hoc committee, chaired by Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, is scheduled to vote on House Bill 4994, or the measure that seeks to create a Bangsamoro autonomous region, replacing the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao next week.
House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. earlier said that the House would only pass a version of the BBL that is compliant to the Constitution.
“We do not want to be a party to a legally flawed measure,” Belmonte said.
Colmenares also said he is hopeful Malacanang will leave lawmakers alone and not intervene in the deliberation and voting of the BBL.
ACT Teachers party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio said Malacanang and other peace advocates should be prepared to see amendments to the BBL, noting what the Palace wants for Congress is to approve the measure as is.
1-BAP party-list Rep. Silvestre Bello III dismissed fears that the peace process would end if the BBL is not passed.
Bello, a House deputy minority leader, said the fate of the BBL would not affect the peace agreement.
Cotobato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo on Friday said the Church’s concerns about the BBL have been addressed by the recommendations of the Peace Council.
In a report posted on the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) website, Quevedo said the Church was concerned about certain provisions affecting the economy, constitutionality, security, and social justice, but said these concerns have already been addressed. – With SARA Susanne D. Fabunan