Duterte urges House to pass Bangsamoro Basic Law

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte has urged congressmen to pass the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) when they reconvene next month after their eight-week Lenten vacation.

He made the appeal on Thursday night during a dinner organized by a group of allies in celebration of his birthday at a hotel in Manila. The President turned 73 on March 28.

Aside from making the plea, the President also complained about alleged irregularities committed by many bus company owners, like smuggling of buses, failure to pay the right amount of importation, income and business taxes, deployment of units not covered by their franchise, insistence on commission and not salary basis for crew, and tampering of engine and chassis numbers of buses.

He said he would soon launch a crackdown on unscrupulous bus company owners and would file charges of economic sabotage against them if they have cheated the government of more than P50 million in taxes.

In response to his appeal for the passage of the draft BBL, the Visayan bloc in the House of Representatives yesterday issued a manifesto supporting the immediate approval of the proposed law when Congress resumes session on May 14.

“We firmly believe that the BBL will pave the way for long-lasting peace and socio-economic development in the proposed Bangsamoro region by allowing the establishment of a regional government that is anchored on the Bangsamoro identity,” the group said.

“It is high time that we give our fellow Filipinos in the Bangsamoro region an opportunity for self-governance and to fully recognize their needs and aspirations. We also acknowledge that ensuring peace and order in the region is a concrete step towards its sustainable development,” it said.

The group urged other House members “to expedite and support the immediate passage of this measure.”

Negros Occidental Rep. Albee Benitez of Negros heads the Visayan bloc, which is composed of more than 40 lawmakers.

Three House committees have been conducting hearings on the draft BBL, which seeks to create a new Bangsamoro regional government in place of the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The draft faces rough sailing due to what many congressmen consider as unconstitutional provisions.

One such provision is the proposed regional parliamentary setup, which does not jibe with the presidential structure the Constitution provides and which exists nationally.

Duterte himself has acknowledged the constitutional infirmities of the draft, which is similar to the one presented by the Aquino administration to Congress and which the legislature failed to pass.

A team of representatives of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front put together the proposed BBL.