By Butch Fernandez in Business Mirror

 

Despite its delayed filing in Congress, Malacañang is still sticking to a self-imposed deadline to have the proposed Bangsamoro basic law (BBL) passed in both the Senate and the House of Representatives before the year-end.

 

“Yes, we are,” Communications Secretary Herminio B. Coloma Jr. said on Sunday, when asked if the Palace was confident that the BBL, which would pave the way for the abolition of the existing Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in favor of a new juridical entity, would be ready for signing into law by President Aquino in December.

 

Coloma told the BusinessMirror that current talks in Davao between the government’s peace negotiators, chaired by Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) “seek to thresh out differences and agree on appropriate language.”

 

This, even as the MILF was reported to have sent signals to the Aquino administration that it would reject a “diluted version” of the proposed BBL that was submitted earlier by a Bangsamoro Transition Commission.

 

n a separate interview over State-run Radyo ng Bayan, Coloma quoted Coronel-Ferrer reporting that “recent meetings have threshed out the process of ensuring enactment into law of the key provisions” of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro.

 

The officials, he pointed out, “are working to reach agreement on the precise and proper language to ensure the outcome adheres to the Constitution.”

 

This will ensure, Coloma explained, “that the bill will not be bogged down by lengthy debates in Congress, especially as to its constitutionality.” He said both sides are aware that the bill must hurdle congressional approval” and that lawmakers would also want to make sure whatever they pass will not face a legal challenge in court.

 

Speaking in Filipino, Coloma noted: “They also want to craft a bill that will not require constitutional amendments to operationalize, so as to ensure that the peace and development efforts post-BBL will be on track, “so that flow of this process will be continuous based on the peace process road map,” he added.

 

Coloma also quoted Senate President Frank Drilon as saying lawmakers needed enough time to discuss the key provisions of the bill. This is not an obstacle, he explained, but rather an assurance that Congress is on the same page as President Aquino and MILF Chairman Al-haj Murad in their determination to pursue the peace process to its rightful conclusion.

 

“This illustrates their sincere wish to have the Bangsamoro Basic Law enacted as soon as possible,” Coloma said.

 

Belmonte: Submit BBL draft Asap

 

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. on Sunday asked Malacañang to immediately submit the draft of the BBL to the House of Representatives.

 

Belmonte said the Palace should submit the draft law as soon as possible to give House members enough time to scrutinize the document and pass it on time.

 

“It should be submitted as soon as possible,” Belmonte said in a text message.

 

He added that the bill will be prioritized at the lower chamber.

 

Belmonte also committed the approval of the proposed law on the establishment of the Bangsamoro juridical entity.

 

According to Belmonte, the BBL will be passed by 2015.

 

Earlier, Belmonte said that they are planning to form a special committee that will handle the proposed BBL.

 

Belmonte, in a separate interview, said the chairman of the committee should come from Mindanao and have a better knowledge about the area.

 

“It [proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law] could go to several committees, so I decided—subject to the approval of everybody—to create a special committee,” Belmonte said, adding, “I have several guys in mind but I will announce his or her name after we receive it [the copy of the draft law] from the Palace.”

 

The Speaker said he decided to create a special committee so it can continue to conduct discussions even the hearing for the proposed national budget starts on August 6.

House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II urged President Aquino to certify the proposed BBL as urgent.

 

“We expect to receive the BBL [anytime] and we are targeting to finish this at least in the committee level before we adjourn sine die on June 13 to July 27,” Gonzales said.

 

The Bangsamoro Transition Authority is expected to convene in January 2015 if the proposed law were approved in the plebiscite, and no petitions were filed before the Supreme Court.

 

Election of officials of the new Bangsamoro autonomous government will be held to coincide with the national and local polls in 2016.

 

Meanwhile, Liberal Party Rep. Romero Quimbo of Marikina City, citing Congress leaders, assured the public that they can pass the proposed BBL along with 2015 national budget before the year ends.

 

“Both Congress leaders have assured that we can meet the deadline to pass the Bangsamoro Basic law and next year’s national budget,” Quimbo, in an earlier interview, said.

 

“We will deliberate the Bangsamoro Basic law with caution to guarantee it will pass constitutional test. The deliberations could be later, but this system will make the proposed law more legally stronger. We are also hoping that Malacañang will submit the draft law as soon as possible because the budget season will eat up a big bulk of our time,” he added.

 

But, members of the House independent minority bloc led by Lakas Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez of Leyte have urged Malacañang to fast-track and finalize the transmittal of the bill so that their fellow legislators will have enough time to scrutinize the measure.

 

Meanwhile, Party-list Rep. Terry Ridon of Kabataan said the BBL will not be passed into law before the term of President Aquino ends in 2016.

 

“I have serious doubts whether Congress will be able to pass this law by the end of our term, considering that no draft bill has been sent by the Palace,” Ridon added. -- With Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz

 

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