Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago. RYAN LEAGOGO/INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The Senate committee on constitutional amendments convened on Monday to tackle the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) despite Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s call to suspend all hearings on the pending legislation.
Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, head of the committee, began the panel’s first hearing on the constitutionality of the BBL at about 10 a.m.
The proceedings had been scheduled even before Marcos, chair of the Senate committee on local government, announced the “indefinite suspension” of his committee’s hearings on BBL early this Monday.
Marcos declared the suspension after members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which is pushing for the enactment of the BBL, killed at least 30 policemen in a clash in Maguindanao.
Secretary Teresita Quinto Deles, presidential adviser on the peace process, and other legal luminaries were among the invited resource persons in Santiago’s hearing.
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