MANILA, Philippines — The proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law is now in a state of “coma” after the Mamasapano incident, Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said on Wednesday.
“I don’t know about dying but it’s in a coma,” said Marcos, chairman of the Senate committee on local government, told Senate reporters, citing Speaker Feliciano Belmonte’s reported statement that the BBL in the House of Representatives was “dying.”
Asked why it was in a state of coma, the senator said: “Because everything has been stopped. All of the legislative process has been stopped.”
Marcos himself directed the suspension of the hearings of his committee on the BBL following the death of 44 members of the Philippine National Police-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF).
He reiterated that if legislators vote on the BBL now, it would not get the approval of both the Senate and the House.
“That’s true. Both houses of Congress, if we vote on it now and I dare say not only this version but maybe even any other version (of the BLL will not get approval),” he said. “Of course emotions are running high and it’s against the MILF because of the atrocities that were committed against our policemen.”
But while the BBL might be in peril in Congress, Marcos said he is not giving up hope on the peace process between the government and the Moro rebels.
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