QUEZON CITY, Philippines — Deliberations on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) were delayed by several weeks at the House of Representatives.
Due to the poor attendance of lawmakers during sessions the quorum has only met a few times.
Magdalo Party List Representative Gary Alejano who is also former soldier said, they do not have enough time to tackle every provision in the BBL.
He however suggested to let the next administration enact and deliberate on the bill. Alejano fears that if they will push for the enactment of the bill now, it will not serve the true purpose of the bill.
“Sa aking paningin hayaan po natin ang next administration i-tackle ito. Kasi kung pipilitin natin ito at maaaring may issue na di naso-solve lalo po magkakaroon ng kaguluhan sa Mindanao.”
(On my personal perspective let the next administration tackle this. If we will push this now and a lot of issues remain unsolved, violence in Mindanao might worsen)
The lawmaker further explained that many issues were still left unsolved. These include the true relationship of the MILF and the BIFF; the confirmation of the rebels’ alleged gun factory that AFP cannot penetrate until now; and the clear answers to the brutal death of the SAF44 in Mamasapano, Maguindanao.
Magdalo Party List Rep. Gary Alejano
But Ad Hoc Committee Chairman Rufus Rodriguez disagrees with Alejano. He said they have gone so far on this bill that they are close to passing it.
Rodriguez assured that they just have to encourage the lawmakers to be present during the session to finally terminate the period of interpellation and proceed to the period of amendments.
“No, we have already invested in this so much so we can have peace in Mindanao; I don’t agree with him. We still have the time and we will pursue its approval before the end of September,” Rodriguez said.
Government Peace Panel Chairman Miriam Coronel-Ferrel believes that the passage of the BBL is now in the hands of the lawmakers.
She said, the next administration would be better off with a BBL in place.
“If there’s a will, there’s a way. The power is in the hands of legislators. They can pass this or they can choose to throw away all the time, money, & goodwill already spent & pass on the work to the next congress. I am certain that the next administration would be better off with a BBL in place. It will benefit from the political stability & can focus on other legislative measures,” said Miriam Coronel-Ferrel. (UNTV News)
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