Senate panel to tackle constitutional issues of Bangsamoro law

By: Maila Ager - 10 years ago

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago. RYAN LEAGOGO/INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The Senate committee on constitutional amendments will conduct a separate hearing on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) to address issues on its legality, panel chair Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago said on Thursday.

Santiago has spoken against the BBL and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, saying the basis was unconstitutional for violating the principle of “constitutional supremacy.”

The agreement establishes not a mere autonomous region as provided for by the Constitution, but a substate which will exercise certain sovereign powers that should be reserved only for the central government, she said.

“I would like to hear what the proponents of the Bangsamoro Basic Law will have to say during the hearings. Let’s see if they can change my mind,” Santiago said in a statement.

Hearings are set on January 26 and February 2.

The BBL was primarily referred to the committee on local government chaired by Senator Bongbong Marcos. It was also referred to the committee on peace and unification chaired by Sen. Teofisto Guingona III.

The two committees have held three joint hearings on the BBL and will hold two more hearings on February 4 and 5 in Jolo and Zamboanga, respectively.

The Senate Rules favor the referral of a bill to not more than two committees, but it also allows a motion for referral to a third committee, Santiago said.

She said Marcos will move to refer the BBL to her committee when the Senate resumes its sessions on January 20.

Among the resource persons that will be invited by the committee in its January 26 hearing are the following:

BBL proponents: Secretary Teresita Quintos-Deles, presidential adviser on the peace process; professor Miriam Colonel-Ferrer, chief government negotiator; Mohaguer Igbal, chair of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission; lawyer Mike Mastura, chair of the advocacy committee of the MILF negotiating panel; and Ghadjali Jafar, MILF vice chair for political affairs
Constitutional law experts: retired Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno and retired SC Justices Adolfo Azcuna and Vicente Mendoza
Academe: Fr. Joaquin Bernas, Ateneo Law School; Dean Merlin Magallona, UP College of Law; Dean Julkipli Wadi, UP Institute of Islamic Studies; and Fr. Ranhilio Aquino, dean of San Beda College Graduate School of Law
Other resource persons: former Senators Rene Saguisag and Aquilino Pimentel Jr.; former Justice Secretary Simeon Datumanong; and Manuel Lazaro, chair of the Philippine Constitution Association

Other BBL proponents will be invited during the committee’s second hearing on February 2, such as Chairman Francisco Duque III of the Civil Service Commission; Chair Grace Pulido Tan of the Commission on Audit; Chair Loretta Ann Rosales of the Commission on Human Rights; Chair Sixto Brillantes Jr. of the Commission on Elections; Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales; Internal Revenue Commissioner Kim Henares; and Glen Pastorfide, who represents the ARMM employees association.