Zubiri thanks SC for junking pleas to block BOL plebiscite

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri on Wednesday thanked the Supreme Court for turning down petitions to block the Jan. 21 and Feb. 6 plebiscite for the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).

“This will now pave the way for a smooth and orderly plebiscite that I believe will usher in the peace and prosperity that we sorely need in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM),” he said in a statement.

Zubiri noted that he and his colleagues in the Senate and the House of Representatives voted almost unanimously for the measure’s approval.

“We trust the Office of the Solicitor General to defend our measure on the cases pending with the Supreme Court and that we, legislators, are willing to lend a helping hand to strengthen our case for the BOL,” he said.

Charting new path

Also on Wednesday, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III defended the constitutionality of the BOL, saying the 1987 Charter did not restrict the government from charting a new path for Muslim Filipinos.

Two weeks before Mindanao residents decide the fate of the BOL in a plebiscite, Pimentel said Congress had enacted a law that complied with the provisions of the Constitution.

“Our Constitution is a living document. It is not a straitjacket which should restrict us from adjusting to changing times and circumstances,” Pimentel said. —DJ Yap