Bangsamoro law draft goes to Congress ‘end of August’

By PRINCE GOLEZ
Manila Reporter

MANILA — President Benigno Aquino III is expected to submit to Congress the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law by the end of this month, Malacañang said.

Peace panels from both the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will submit their final draft to President Aquino “within the week,” said Presidential Communication Operations Office secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma Jr.

“All the crucial issues have been discussed and clarified,” Coloma said, quoting Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process secretary Teresita Quintos-Deles as saying.

The final draft, which is seen to end the decades-old conflict in Mindanao, is being prepared for submission to Aquino, according to Deles.

For his part, Senate President Franklin Drilon hailed the government and the MILF for “ironing out differences in the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law.”

The proposed law, Drilon said, “represents all our hopes and aspirations for a lasting and genuine peace and inclusive social and economic development in Mindanao.”

Congress will “work double-time” so the law will see passage “by the first quarter of next year,” he said./PN