President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday certified the House and Senate bills on the Bangsamoro Basic Law as urgent.
“The passage of this measure is a manifestation of the government’s commitment to address the diverse needs of the people in Bangsamoro, and all communities and constituents of Mindanao, towards a just and lasting peace in Mindanao and in the Philippines as a whole,” Duterte said.
In other developments:
• The House of Representatives on Tuesday opened plenary deliberations on the proposed BBL.
House Bill 6475, principally authored by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, was sponsored in the plenary by Representatives Pedro Acharon of South Cotabato, chairman of the committee on local governments; Mauyag Papandayan of Lanao del Sur, chairman of the committee on Muslim affairs; Ruby Sahali of Tawi-Tawi, and chairwoman of the peace, reconciliation and unity committee.
The House has yet to receive a copy of the President’s certification declaring the bill an urgent measure, as of press time.
The bill was expected to have approved HB 6475 on second reading Tuesday night.
• House majority leader and Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas on Tuesday said he saw no need to amend the 1987 Constitution to establish a Bangsamoro region in Mindanao.
Fariñas made the statement even as he reiterated that the House leadership will pass the constitutional Bangsamoro Basic Law.
Critics feel that the proposed BBL will not pass constitutional the test as the bill calls for the abolition of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao that the Constitution itself created.
“There is no need to amend the 1987 Constitution. Another option would be to wait for the Con-Ass [constituent assembly] to accommodate the BBL,” Fariñas said.
Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman had earlier assailed the BBL proposal, saying it was unconstitutional.
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza earlier said Duterte had held separate meetings with all the leaders of the House and the Senate and with the leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front led by its chairman Murad Ibrahim.
“The President initially expressed his own personal views and initial assessments which resonated well to all,” said Dureza who was optimistic on the passage of the bill.
“The meeting adjourned with a general consensus that the two chambers conclude their work at the earliest possible time and if there are varying versions, that the mandated bicameral committees of both chambers meet to come up with a joint reconciled and accepted version,” Dureza said.
He said the administration was confident the bill would be passed and signed into law by the President in time for his State of the Nation Address on July 23 this year.
The BBL seeks to establish a proposed new autonomous political entity known as the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region. BAR then will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao including the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi.
The bill provides the basic structure of the government for BAR and classifies which government powers are exclusive to it.