BBL should not take precedence over budget – Drilon

MANILA, Philippines - While congressional discussions on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) should ideally start as soon as possible, they should not take precedence over deliberations on the 2015 budget program, Senate President Franklin Drilon said yesterday.

The Senate has already started the committee hearings on the budget and, according to Drilon, the measure should be ready for plenary debates in October when the House of Representatives shall have transmitted its approved version of the bill.

“So I believe that we would be able to start the debate on the Bangsamoro Basic Law by the first week of December and approve it before the end of the first quarter next year,” Drilon said.

Malacañang is set to submit to Congress tomorrow the final BBL version.

Once the Senate receives a copy of the proposed BBL, Drilon said that the measure would be referred to the committees on Local Government and on Peace, Unification and Reconciliation chaired by Senators Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Teofisto Guingona III, respectively.

Just like any other bill filed in Congress, Drilon noted that the proposed BBL would be discussed thoroughly at the committee level where all issues, legal or constitutional would be raised and considered.

Drilon appealed to his colleagues in the House and the Senate to set aside political bickering for the sake of achieving lasting peace in the Mindanao region.

“Let us set aside 2016 in the meantime so that we would be able to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law right away,” Drilon said.

“We all know that peace is very important in order to bring about growth in the economy of Mindanao and consequently, provide our people there with the opportunities, including good jobs,” he added.

Drilon said the international community is eagerly waiting for the passage of the BBL.

The House of Representatives, for its part, approved a resolution creating a special 75-member ad hoc committee that will review the BBL.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II filed House Resolution 1462 creating the ad hoc body “to review, evaluate and propose legislation relative to the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).”

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, president of the Centrist Democratic Party and an expert in constitutional law, will chair the panel.

“An ad hoc committee must be established to study, deliberate, and act upon all matters related to the advancement and welfare of the Bangsamoro people and make the Bangsamoro Basic Law the basis of lasting peace and prosperity in Mindanao,” the resolution stated. 

The panel will adopt its own rules and procedures to govern its proceedings, and have a proportionate representation from the majority and minority blocs. – With Edith Regalado, John Unson, Paolo Romero, Jose Rodel Clapano