Drilon urges swift passage of Bangsamoro Basic Law

Senate President Franklin Drilon. PRIB FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Senate President Franklin Drilon is urging both the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to come up with an agreement and “acceptable” solutions to ensure swift passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law.

“I urge both parties to come up with an agreement. Pare-pareho tayong mga Pilipino. Kailangan natin magkasundo para sa kapakanan ng lahat, sa ating kinabukasan,” Drilon said in an interview on Wednesday.

(I urge both parties to come up with na agreement. We are all Filipinos. We have to agree for the sake of everyone, of our future.)

“I am asking everyone to maintain an open mind on the various issues. We have gone a long way. Ang importante sa akin, lahat ng ating pag-uusapan ay dapat sumunod sa ating Saligang-Batas. It is critical that we come up with an acceptable solution for both sides,” he said.

(I am asking everyone to maintain an open mind on the various issues. We have gone a long way. What is important to me is that everything we’ll discuss should be in accordance with our Constitution. It is critical that we come up with an acceptable solution for both sides.)

Drilon made the call as he vowed to give “highest priority” to the proposed law once its draft is submitted to the Senate.

“Once we receive the draft for the Bangsamoro Basic Law, it will be the highest priority. Whenever it is submitted, we will work hard so that we can meet the target ratification by second half of the next year, so we can have the government in place once this administration ends in June of 2016,” he said.

“We cannot afford to fail as far as the Bangsamoro Basic Law is concerned. We must have something in place so that the Bangsamoro Basic Law will provide stability and improvements in the economic life of the region,” he said.

Drilon said the Bangsamoro government should be in place before President Aquino ends his term in 2016.

“Yun ang ating timetable. Kailangan may bagong tayong istraktura na para sa Bangsamoro sa pagtapos ng termino ng Pangulong Noynoy Aquino,” the Senate leader added.

(That’s our timetable. We should have a new structure for the Bangsamoro at the end of President Noynoy Aquino’s term.)

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