‘No P1.5-B projects dangled for BBL’

MANILA, Philippines - Lawmakers were never offered P1.5 billion in projects in exchange for their support – specifically their votes in the plenary – for the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), Malacañang said yesterday.

“There is no truth and no basis for such allegations,” Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. told Palace reporters in a news briefing. He did not elaborate.

The BBL had been in limbo in Congress for a long time due to lack of a quorum. Surprisingly, the House achieved a quorum last Wednesday or a day after President Aquino made another pitch for BBL in a luncheon meeting with members of the House of Representatives.

House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II earlier denied reports on the P1.5-billion projects being dangled by the Palace.

“That’s an absolute lie,” he said in a text message when asked about the alleged bribe. He said opposition lawmakers as well as those against the BBL were present at the Palace luncheon.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said the fate of the BBL remains uncertain in the House, which is set to vote on the measure in January next year.

He said the measure should be more acceptable to lawmakers if the numerous unconstitutional provisions are removed.

“The fact of the matter is many people are talking as if the matter on the floor is the original draft. In fact, the committee report contains almost 50 amendments from the original draft. But many people do know do that, some members thought we are talking of the same draft,” Belmonte told reporters.

He said the chamber is thinking of terminating the period of interpellation on the floor next week as the number of lawmakers lined up to debate on the BBL has been trimmed down.

He said two of the 17 House members grilling the sponsors of the measure would no longer take part in the process, while the others have agreed to lessen their questioning.

“We have to plan carefully in the few days in January and February so we could use advantageously (the time we have),” Belmonte said.

For next week or before the congressional Christmas break, no major progress or much less an approval of the BBL is expected, lawmakers said.

“I doubt if we can approve it next week. There are still several of us who want to question the sponsor of the measure,” Rep. Sherwin Tugna of party-list group Citizens Battle Against Corruption told a news forum in Quezon City.

He said at least 18 more House members have expressed their intention to debate with the BBL sponsor, Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez.

“Three session days next week would not be enough for their interpellations. Besides, quorum will always be a challenge,” he said.

But he said House members may try passing it in January, as Belmonte has emphasized.

On Wednesday, in a well attended House session, two members were able to finish their debates with Rodriguez on the controversial BBL.

For his part, Quezon Rep. Mark Enverga said aside from the remaining interpellations, the House would still have to deal with numerous proposed amendments to the Bangsamoro bill.

The period of amendments will entail more debates and will take time to finish, he said.

Both Tugna and Enverga said there’s no telling how the measure would end up if put to a vote.

“It will depend on the final shape of the bill. Many of our colleagues are afraid of the opt-in provision,” they said.

“If our colleagues from Mindanao who are not part of the Muslim region feel threatened by the provision, they will vote against the BBL.”

Rodriguez, who also chairs the ad hoc committee on the BBL, said at least 50 unconstitutional provisions have been removed to make sure the measure would stand legal scrutiny.

Among the main contentious sections removed was the “opt-in” provision that states that a contiguous area may seek to join the proposed Bangsamoro autonomous region upon the petition of 10 percent of residents, he said.

Rodriguez said that in the revised version, the Office of the Ombudsman will retain its powers to investigate agencies in a Bangsamoro entity. The government, specifically through the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, will also retain its regulatory powers over the banking industry in the region.

The provision requiring the national government to coordinate its military operations with the Bangsamoro government was removed. – Jess Diaz, Marvin Sy