Bicam meet on BBL set

The Senate and the House of Representatives will meet on Monday to reconcile “contentious” differences in each of their respective versions of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri will lead the Senate contingent while House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas will lead the House contingent in the bicameral committee conference at Crown Plaza Manila in Quezon City.

“It is going to be exciting. Hopefully, we are able to accomplish this and arrive at a version that is acceptable to everyone,” Zubiri said in a radio interview on Saturday.

Contentious differences

Zubiri said he talked with Senate President Vicente Sotto III last week and both agreed that the panel would first discuss the points of agreement instead of the contentious ones.

“Actually, we have identified the contentious differences. We studied those well yesterday, and we are looking for win-win solutions,” he said.

The Senate introduced some 150 amendments to the original proposal that was based on the draft of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission. —DJ Yap