Miriam sets Bangsamoro law hearing on Monday

MANILA, Philippines - Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago has set a public hearing on the constitutionality of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) on Monday to fast-track the measure that aims to address the peace and order concerns in Mindanao.

Despite battling a stage 4 cancer, Santiago will convene the Senate committee on constitutional amendments and revisions of codes at 10 a.m. to scrutinize some issues raised by certain sectors, including the Philippine Constitution Association.

Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., chairperson of the Senate committee on local government, has expressed concern that time is running out for the passage of the measure.

According to Marcos, there are some concerns on the date when the plebiscite could be held once the Bangsamoro measure is passed into law.

“Apparently, according to commissioner Chris Lim is that the Comelec will need six months after it has been signed into law. If we are going to finish it by March, October is the plebiscite. That’s the earliest that the plebiscite can be conducted,” Marcos said.

Marcos noted that the target date for the BBL plebiscite will coincide with the national elections in May 2016.

“…one year is not enough for the work of the transitional commission. So I don’t how we are going to handle that. Baka pwede natin iurong yun sa bangsamoro. I don’t know,” Marcos said.

“So we may have to take that into account with the timeline of election,” he said, adding that the delay in the schedule was due to the failure of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) to bring over the framework agreement to the Senate.

The framework agreement was brought to the Senate only last September, which was five months behind schedule, Marcos added.

“But I guess it was a necessary delay. Wala na tayo magagawa. We’ll just have to adjust accordingly in time of the timeline,” the senator said.

Early this week, Senate minority floor leader Vicente Sotto questioned why a third committee has to be involved in the BBL. He suggested that if the committee on peace and unification is done with its hearings, then one committee must already wind up its work so that the other committee can work with the committee on constitutional amendments.

Marcos said that since the last session day is on March 18, he had to refer the constitutional questions to Santiago’s committee so that both committees can hold parallel hearings for the sake of expediency.

After a meeting on Wednesday, the senators eventually agreed to allow Santiago’s committee to tackle the constitutional issues although Sotto gave a negative vote.