By Paolo Romero, Philippine Star

 

MANILA, Philippines - Voting on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in the ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives was stalled again yesterday and moved to next week to allow lawmakers more time to review the draft after the influx of last-minute amendments.

 

At least 60 BBL provisions have proposed amendments.

 

Because of the amendments, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chairman of the 75-member panel, said the 99-page draft submitted by Malacañang would increase to about 150 pages. At least 12 lawmakers have written new amendments to the draft as of yesterday.

 

The second postponement came amid talk among administration lawmakers that the ruling Liberal Party (LP) is putting in its own set of amendments to counter moves of a majority in the ad hoc panel to remove at least eight unconstitutional provisions in the BBL.

 

“I think it’s not just Malacañang or the LP that is moving, that led to the postponement of the voting to next week, but this is because the other side (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) does not like the emerging draft. If these proposals are just from us, we can talk about it among ourselves,” a senior lawmaker said.

 

Malacañang denied it was pressuring the House to pass the executive’s version of the proposed BBL, the reason the voting at the ad hoc committee level was delayed.

 

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the House was free to work on the draft BBL and pass the version it deemed appropriate.

 

“Let us wait for the decision of the ad hoc committee in Congress on the amendments for the draft BBL proposed. We recognize and respect that our Congress has a process as a separate and co-equal branch of government,” Coloma said.

 

Coloma said the goal was to come up with a law that would pursue the goals of the peace process.

 

He refused to comment on allegations that Malacañang would prefer to rush the passage next week and push for its version rather than allow the House members to deliberate on it.

 

Coloma said the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office was continuously coordinating with Senate President Franklin Drilon and Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. on the priority bills of the executive branch, including the proposed BBL.

 

The ad hoc panel was supposed to start its three-day section-by-section voting on the BBL on Monday but the additional amendments reset the balloting to yesterday.

 

The BBL, which has 221 sections, seeks to create a new Bangsamoro autonomous region in Mindanao.

 

Rodriguez maintained the unconstitutional provisions cannot be cured by simple rewording as pushed by some of his colleagues from the LP.

 

However, in a caucus of House leaders late Monday, it was decided that the voting be moved to May 18 to also allow the panel to compile all the amendments and come up with a single draft that will be distributed to lawmakers for review.

 

“I think I’m reasonably certain that we have the numbers (to pass the BBL) but more than that, really we should be voting on a bill that has been properly reported out. We ourselves may not be in full agreement with his (Rodriguez) report but still that can be the working basis for our votation,” Belmonte told reporters.

 

He said the timeline to approve the BBL on or before Congress adjourns on June 11 will be tight but will be met.

 

Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez welcomed the additional time to scrutinize the BBL.

 

“This development indicates that the House majority has no solid number to pass the BBL because even their allies believe that Congress should not hurry the approval of a very vital and important measure,” Romualdez said.

 

“While we support peace with the MILF, Congress should not pass it under duress. This measure must be approved in consonance with the Constitution and existing laws,” he said.

 

Romualdez said Malacañang was pressing for the approval of the BBL when it has yet to deliver justice to the 44 elite policemen killed by MILF fighters in Mamasapano, Maguindanao last Jan. 25.

 

Belmonte, for his part, denied the LP has inserted a set of amendments, saying any member of the committee can propose changes.

 

Rodriguez earlier said the panel is bent on removing eight perceived unconstitutional provisions, particularly those creating agencies with powers reserved for constitutional offices like the Office of the Ombudsman.

 

Other perceived unconstitutional provisions that lawmakers wanted removed include those which require the President to coordinate military operations with the chief minister of the Bangsamoro region; empower the chief minister to have control and supervision over police forces in the region; and the provision authorizing the conduct of a plebiscite in any territory contiguous to the Bangsamoro region where 10 percent of residents want to join the autonomous regional government.

 

“That is a basic draft and if at all that is what the administration is pushing. But as you know from the very start, the idea that it could be approved here without amendment was really something that nobody subscribed to. We all thought that it needed inputs from members of Congress,” Belmonte said.

 

He stressed the BBL was an instrument of peace in Mindanao and can block the resurgence of violent extremism as seen in the Middle East.

 

While Congress will do its best to come with its version of the BBL, Belmonte said it is inevitable that the document will be questioned before the Supreme Court, particularly the eight unconstitutional provisions.

 

“I believe that we can find some compromise on all of these (provisions) and we cannot issue a blanket statement on it, in effect deprive the Supreme Court of the right to go over or the chance to go over or to rationalize it or to make a judgment on it,” he said.

 

Call for peace

 

Local leaders and stakeholders in Mindanao called on Congress to fast-track approval of the BBL.

 

“We are urging members of the committee to pass the bill ‘as is,’ not in a diluted form, to enable the Bangsamoro entity to efficiently govern the communities inside its proposed core territory,” Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) officials led by regional executive secretary Laisa Alamia said.

 

Alamia said ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman is ready to turn over all the manpower and fiscal assets of offices under the executive department of the regional government once the transition process begins.

 

“Our regional governor is a staunch supporter of the government-MILF peace initiative,” Alamia said.

 

She said the main concern of the Hataman administration, for now, is the enactment into law of the draft BBL.

 

Alamia said ARMM employees are expecting the two chambers of Congress to enact the draft law without revisions.

 

“The approval of this proposed law is a major step in resolving nagging security problems in the autonomous region,” Alamia said.

 

“The Senate should read the sign of the times. People want peace in Mindanao, as shown by a recent survey that more Filipinos want peaceful negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front,” added Octavio Dinampo, executive director of the Tulung Lupah Sug Inc. – with Aurea Calica, John Unson, Jose Rodel Clapano, Edith Regaado