Senators, solons urged to hold dialogue with Bangsamoro body

Undersecretary Gettie Sandoval (second from left) of the Policy and Institutional Partnership of the OPAPP, urges senators and congressmen to hold dialogues with the BTC so that they can fully understand what the BBL aims to achieve. MATIKAS SANTOS/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines—The senators and congressmen who will scrutinize the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) should hold dialogues with the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) that crafted it so the legislators will get a full understanding of what BBL aims to achieve.

“There is a request for a dialogue between the two panels, the BTC that crafted the law and the lawmakers, in looking at the BBL and in suggesting changes or amendments,” Undersecretary Gettie Sandoval of the Policy and Institutional Partnership of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) said Wednesday in a press conference after a forum.

“The hope is that this will be done in dialogue so that Congress will be able to understand not just the language but the reason behind the language of the BBL,” she said.

The Bangsamoro bill, which would create the Bangsamoro region as a replacement to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), is currently in the committee stage in both houses of Congress and will likely be taken up by next.

“Congress is now on recess, but even if they are on recess, there are consultations going on both in the House of Representatives and in the Senate as well as [in the provinces],” Sandoval said.

“We hope that the amount of time that we have will be sufficient enough to be able to address all the concerns,” she said. “The BTC has submitted the bill to Congress so that means that Congress is now free to do its legislative work which means looking at the BTC to make sure that it is consistent with the constitution.”

Senate President Franklin Drilon and Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr have both said it is unlikely the bill will be passed before the end of 2014 given their current focus on the 2015 budget.

Drilon said that a deadline of March 2015 was more realistic and will also provide adequate time for the conduct of a plebiscite for the local residents in the affected provinces.

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