Drilon confident Bangsamoro will be passed by Senate

Senate President Franklin Drilon. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Senate President Franklin Drilon on Wednesday said he was confident that the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law will be passed by Senate.

“We are confident that we will pass the measure,” said Drilon after President Benigno Aquino III submitted the draft bill to Congress leaders in Malacañang.

However, he said it will be tackled in plenary after the national budget is approved by the end of the year.

“We will immediately set the committee hearings next week… Realistically, however, the budget committee hearings are ongoing,” he explained.

“We hope to put it (general appropriations act) on the (plenary) floor in November and pass it before we adjourn in December. Thereafter we will have the Bangsamoro Basic Law on plenary.”

Drilon said they will try their best but added that the BBL will most likely be approved within the first quarter of 2015.

“We are giving ourselves until the first quarter of next year. There’s enough time to have it set for plebiscite and have the transition commission in place before the 2016 election,” he said.

“I don’t think we could pass it by the end year. We’ll give it our best shot but it’s extremely difficult because of the budget deliberations,” Drilon added.

The Senate President explained that they want the Bangsamoro elections to be consistent with the national elections.

Before that, however, the BBL will still need to be ratified through a plebiscite by the residents of the region.

Drilon said the most important issue to resolve is whether the bill, which is a product of 17 years of negotiations between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), is constitutional.

“The President has assured that this is within the constitutional boundaries and we’re glad to hear that. That will be a major point of examination,” he said, adding that they will also look into the issue of private rights.

During the turnover ceremony, Aquino said the BBL was not only constitutional but also in accordance with the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro.

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Originally posted: 11:28 am | Wednesday, September 10th, 2014