Amid fears that Islamic extremists continue to feed on economic woes to recruit and regroup for another well-orchestrated attack similar to the Marawi siege, lawmakers are racing against time to finally craft a law that will ensure lasting peace and development in the South: this time, a version that has been rid of the perceived constitutional flaws of the first Bangsamoro basic law (BBL) bill, and which can stand alongside a federalist setup, should one finally come to pass.

 

In separate interviews, senators said they are looking to front-load deliberations on BBL as soon as Congress reconvenes regular sessions in mid-May, despite their tight schedule.

 

Senate Majority Leader Vicente C. Sotto III indicated over the weekend that they are  targeting to submit the awaited measure for plenary approval before their next adjournment on June 1.

 

Upon resumption of regular sessions, Sotto said the Senate will schedule plenary deliberations on the BBL to allow senators to seek further clarification on the proposal to grant wider autonomous power to Muslim communities in Mindanao.

 

Asked if the Senate will be ready to put the bill to a floor vote shortly after sessions resume in mid-May, Sotto made it clear, though, “We are still in the period of interpellations,” meaning, senators are still taking turns grilling Sen. Miguel F. Zubiri, chairman of the Subcommittee on the BBL and principal sponsor of Senate Bill (SB) 1717.

 

“Hopefully, we will pass [the BBL] on second reading before the sine die adjournment [on June 1],” Sotto said.  Zubiri, for his part, also vowed to comply with his own set timeline on processing the BBL through Congress.

 

“I plan to resume interpellation on May 15 then close the period of interpellation on May 22, then start the period of amendments that same day and on May 23. I’ll move to approve it on third and final reading by May 28, which is a Monday, to time it before our sine die break on May 31,” Zubiri said in an interview.

 

Duterte’s timeline

 

The Senate’s timeline came under fresh pressure last week after President Duterte met with leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) and government peace panel in Davao City.

 

The meeting took place a day after Duterte visited Sulu and urged the people there to scrutinize the proposed BBL, with the President apparently determined to avoid the kind of legal wrangling that plagued the first BBL version under his predecessor.

 

Present at the meeting, a report by the state-owned Philippine News Agency (PNA) said, were MILF Chairman Al-Hajj Murad Ebrahim, BTC Chairman Ghadzali Jaafar and MILF Peace Panel Chairman Mohagher Iqbal and Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza.

 

Duterte apparently noted the call of the MILF leaders for Congress to pass the BBL first before a new Constitution, one embodying his vision of federalism, is ratified.

 

The President, however, is anxious that some stakeholders in the South, especially non-MILF members, might feel excluded from the final BBL, and underscored such when he visited Patikul town in Sulu. The PNA report said Duterte appealed for unity there, saying a lot of tribes in Mindanao should be considered in crafting the BBL.

 

Nonetheless, Duterte wanted an end-2018 timeline for BBL’s passage, hence his desire to help ferret out, this early, reservations on the evolving version.

 

“I have to fathom it. That’s why I need to talk to you and I want to finish it this year. I want to have a result of this by the end of the year,” the PNA report quoted Duterte assaying.

 

New version more inclusive–Zubiri

 

Zubiri is confident, though, that the highly inclusive consultations this time around will ensure a much-improved version. “I believe we corrected almost all the flaws of the previous BBL after extensive hearings and consultations had taken place. This version is more inclusive with members of the MILF, MNLF [Moro National Liberation Front], women, Christians and IP [indigenous people] sectors fully represented during the hearings and consultations,” he said.

 

The hearings called by his Subcommittee on the BBL were participated in by constitutionalists, Supreme Court chief justices and other legal eagles “to assist us in making it constitutional,” Zubiri said.

 

When Zubiri endorsed for plenary debates on March 1 his BBL version, he described it as being “96-percent BTC,” referring to the multisectoral Bangsamoro Transition Commission that is helping ensure a truly inclusive landmark legislation.

 

He hopes the approved bicameral version of the BBL can be submitted before Duterte’s State of the Nation Address in late-July.

 

The House of Representatives has, like the Senate, also conducted BBL hearings and consultations in the South. The House, though, is still consolidating four bills seeking to provide for the BBL and abolish the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

 

Zubiri had earlier estimated that the BBL discussions “should take around three to four months, hopefully, including all out-of-town consultative hearings, committee work, interpolations and amendments.”

 

Noting that the “draft submitted to us by the Transition Council” contains 126 pages, 18 articles, 267 sections, Zubiri prepped stakeholders for the daunting task ahead. He said it  “would be a very difficult bill to tackle, not to mention that we have to debate the constitutionality of some controversial provisions. It won’t be a walk in the park, but the proponents can be assured that I, as a Mindanaoan [he hails from Bukidnon], will put my utmost priority to its approval.”

 

The senator from Bukidnon noted the “confidence-building measures” between the MILF and MNLF on one hand with the Armed Forces of the Philippines. These groups were reported to have aided the military in fighting terrorism in Mindanao, particularly during the five-month Marawi siege that began May 23, where certain MILF leaders proved vital in communicating with various parties in the conflict.

 

In a  separate interview where he was asked whether an impeachment trial for Chief Justice Maria A. Lourdes Sereno might stall key legislation, Zubiri had said whatever happens, “the Senate should prioritize the passage of the BBL, as the cost of war outweighs any other legislation in the agenda. We can’t afford another Marawi in Mindanao or in any other area in the country for that matter. The passage of the BBL is part of the last steps of the final peace agreement with the largest rebel group in the country. That should be the priority.”

 

Curing BBL bill’s ‘defects’

 

The urgency notwithstanding, senators have indicated there can be no railroading of such a bill promising fundamental change. Still, Sotto voiced optimism the Senate can cure what President Duterte considers “defects” in the previous administration’s version of the BBL.

 

There are issues even with the latest version, though.

 

Sen. Sherwin T. Gatchalian has questioned the bill’s provision on “length of term and term limits” for Bangsamoro Members of Parliament (BMPs).

 

Gatchalian manifested an intention to push for major amendments in SB 1717 “to ensure that contentious provisions regulating the terms of office of Bangsamoro elective local officials are consistent with the Constitution.”

 

He zeroed in on SB 1717’s provision under Article VII, Section 13, which states the initial term length of three years for members of the Bangsamoro Parliament (MPs) “without prejudice to the power of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority [BTA] to include in the Election Code a new term of office.”

 

Gatchalian sought to clarify if “this provision would empower the BTA to lengthen the subsequent terms of Bangsamoro MPs to more than three years.” Zubiri replied in the affirmative after consulting members of the BTC.

 

This prompted Gatchalian to suggest that the bill’s controversial provision—virtually skirting term limits—be amended to comply with Article X, Section 8 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution limiting elected local officials to not more than three consecutive three-year terms.

 

At the same time, Gatchalian is prodding the Senate to tighten a provision in the bill to prevent a possible circumvention of the three-term limit for local elective officials prescribed by the Constitution by “dissolving the Parliament.”

 

He cited Article VII, Section 37 of SB 1717, which provides that the ceremonial head of the Bangsamoro government, called Wali, will be empowered to “dissolve Parliament upon the advice of the Chief Minister after a two-thirds vote of no confidence cast by all the members of Parliament.”

 

The provision should be re-worded, Gatchalian said, to clarify that the term served by incumbent Bangsamoro MPs at the time of dissolution be recognized as a full uninterrupted term—meaning, “that it will count against the three-term limit.”

 

Gatchalian explained: If such were taken as an interrupted term, that would mean “they can run again as if they were back to their original term; so that if you are on your third term and Parliament is dissolved, you can serve another three terms again. That’s a perpetual term already.”

 

The lawmakers “need to clear this up very well because it’s something that can be abused in the future,” he warned.

 

BBL and federalism

 

Meanwhile, Senate President Aquilino L. Pimentel III discounted the concern that federalism would clash with the goals of the BBL.

 

“Federalism, hopefully, should have answered the concerns of our Muslim brothers because under federalism, there would be many autonomous regional governments,” Pimentel said in an ambush interview. “’Yun sana, but BBL can be achieved through a law and, hopefully,” a law that is “constitutional” can emerge.

 

As federalism can only be achieved with constitutional amendments that will take longer to achieve, it made sense to frontload a more “doable” law for the areas now subsumed in the ARMM, according to Pimentel.

 

Senate Minority backs BBL

 

One thing going for the timely passage of the BBL is that the Senate Minority bloc, led by Sen. Franklin M. Drilon, has signalled support for its early enactment, even though they continue to fiscalize the Duterte administration on other issues, notably on human rights and foreign policy.

 

Drilon had acknowledged that the BBL could be a viable formula for accelerating Mindanao’s progress, and said he and the Minority bloc are committed to “rise above partisan politics” to help ensure timely passage of BBL.

 

Nonetheless, Drilon—a former Senate President and justice secretary and considered one of the Senate’s legal eagles—said he was keen to “examine everything” to ensure the legislation does not run afoul of the Constitution.

 

“So far from what I have seen, they seem to have addressed and they were conscious of the constitutional limitations,” Drilon said on the sidelines of a presentation by Zubiri.

 

As main author of the Senate version of the BBL bill, Pimentel —himself a Mindanaoan and a Bar topnotcher—vowed that the chamber will craft a measure that passes constitutional hurdles. “I think we all want this (BBL), but we all want to pass a constitutional version.”

 

Zubiri summed up best the two ideals of lawmakers, even while putting a premium on urgency: “What we want is a BBL that promotes healing rather than divisions. A BBL that can stand constitutional scrutiny.