House leadership urges Palace to submit Bangsamoro law after Sona

MANILA, Philippines—Majority leader Neptali Gonzales II said the leadership in the House of Representatives wants Malacañang to submit the Bangsamoro basic law after the 2014 State of the Nation Address (Sona).

In an ambush interview on Wednesday, Gonzales said the House leadership would prefer this as word reached him that the Palace would submit the bill two days before the House goes on break in June.

“The Speaker’s (Feliciano Belmonte Jr.) thinking is that if that’s the case, they might as well submit it one day after the Sona,” Gonzales said.

Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II PHOTO from www.congress.gov.ph

This is because if the draft bill is submitted before the break, committee hearings for the bill scheduled during the break would not be well attended, he said.

“It’s unfair that a historic matter like this will be deliberated in the committee attended by less than ten,” Gonzales said.

Congress is awaiting the draft of the Bangsamoro basic law from the Office of the President. The law, which needed Congress’ nod, would implement the recently signed Bangsamoro deal that ended the decades-long secessionist movement of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The Palace said it would submit the draft bill on May but it has yet to do so.

Time is also ticking for the bill as the House of Representatives is set to go on indefinite break on June 13 to mark the end of first regular session.

The recently signed Bangsamoro deal has drawn criticisms for supposedly insulting the Constitution because it purportedly calls for amendments to the charter for it to be implemented.

The Palace wants Congress to pass the bill within the year.

RELATED STORIES

Belmonte wants Bangsamoro law passed after Sona

Delay in submission of basic law worries MILF