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BY PRINCE GOLEZ and ADRIAN STEWART CO
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Wednesday, November 29, 2017
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MANILA – Lawmakers were feeling the pressure after President Rodrigo Duterte urged them to expeditiously act on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).
Among them was a mix of optimism on completing deliberations on the BBL before Congress adjourns in March next year, and doubt on the feasibility of passing the measure before this year ends, even though Duterte has not set any deadline.
Some of them were resistant to the idea of holding a special session to discuss the measure.
“He (Duterte) didn’t say naman when he will actually call for the special session,” Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque clarified yesterday. “He only emphasized that, if need be, he will call Congress for a special session.”
The President “did not intend or did not limit the timeframe this year or the remaining part of December,” Roque added. “In fact, the Bangsamoro bill is still at the committee level at the House, so we expect that we have time for Congress to discuss the BBL.”
The House found no need for a special session. Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas assured Duterte that the representatives will be able to finish their work on the bill before Congress adjourns in March next year.
“Even if we hold a special session, we can’t compress the schedule to discuss the BBL,” Fariñas told a news conference yesterday. “We can assure the President that we will finish it before we adjourn on March 21.”
Lawmakers from the committees on local government, on Muslim affairs, and on peace, reconciliation and unity, plan to hold hearings nationwide to get the sentiment of stakeholders, Fariñas added.
Several senators were filled with doubt with regard to approving the Bangsamoro measure within the year.
The bill “contains 289 sections that hearings alone can take so much time,” said Senate Majority Leader Vicente “Tito” Sotto III.
“We need the Christmas break for our families,” Sotto added. “Even if we have sessions through Christmas and New Year’s Day, it is not possible to pass it on third reading this year in the Senate.”
Congress can hold committee hearings on the BBL even without the President calling for a special session, Sen. Panfilo Lacson pointed out.
“Unless the intention is to pass the measure before year-end – which is impossible, considering the complex and contentious issues involved in its provisions – a special session may not be necessary,” Lacson said.
Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said the Senate has “no more time” to hold a special session for the BBL because members were “rushing” the approval of the proposed Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion and the proposed 2018 national budget.
“So no BBL debate can happen even in special session,” he said.
Even Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara, chairman of the local government committee that was in charge of the BBL, was defending the tax measure “full-time,” said Drilon.
“And if (the House of Representatives) will impeach (Supreme Court Chief Justice Maria Lourdes) Sereno, Senate will be an impeachment court in January,” the Ilonggo senator said.
“Recall how long it took for ex-senator (Ferdinand) Marcos (Jr.) to conduct hearings on BBL in the past 16th Congress,” he added. “Thus, I do not know when we can debate on BBL.”
Senate Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, on the other hand, believes the measure may be passed next year yet even if Duterte calls for a special session.
Meanwhile, Rep. Edcel Lagman said Duterte’s push for a special session on the BBL was “grossly premature” since Mindanao was still under martial law.
“The BBL bill must be first cleansed of constitutional infirmities, foremost of which is the legislative abolition of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, whose establishment is mandated by the 1987 Constitution,” Lagman said.
“No amendment to the Charter is allowed by ordinary statute but, accordingly, there is a need for prior constitutional amendment to replace the ARMM with the expanded and more powerful Bangsamoro Autonomous Region,” he added.
House Bill No. 6475, which was authored by House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and 97 other representatives, reflects the version that the Bangsamoro Transition Commission submitted to Malacañang.
The BBL was a product of the peace agreement forged between then President Benigno Aquino III and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in 2013. A number of bills on the BBL have been filed in the last Congress but none was approved./PN
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