MANILA, Philippines – President Benigno Aquino III supposedly told lawmakers to railroad the Bangsamoro basic bill without amending the contentious provisions, a lawmaker from the independent bloc said on Wednesday.
In a press conference, Buhay Rep. Lito Atienza said the President urged lawmakers to pass the BBL without amendments during his meeting with them on Monday.
“I understand that the President made it very clear that he does not want any amendments. With that attitude, I’m sorry, Mr. President… We can already see the stampeding,” Atienza said.
“It’s a fact that they were given marching orders to proceed with hearings and approve it by June,” he added.
In a meeting with majority lawmakers on Monday, Aquino urged congressmen to pass the BBL within his administration. He gave Congress until March 18 to pass the bill in the committee level, May 4 for it to be tackled in the plenary, and on or before June 11 for third and final reading.
Cagayan De Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, who chairs the ad hoc Bangsamoro committee, clarified that the President only told lawmakers not to “dilute” the version of the BBL that was agreed upon by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which lost the trust of some lawmakers for its involvement in the Jan. 25 attack in Mamasapano town, Maguindanao that left 44 Special Action Force (SAF) police commandos dead in a botched anti-terror raid.
“There is no marching order from the President, no such thing. He just appealed not to ‘dilute it too much,’” Rodriguez added.
The Mindanao lawmaker said the President wanted as much of the original bill preserved as possible so that it will be “acceptable to the Bangsamoro people (that) will give them the necessary autonomy.”
“He said ‘not too dilute it too much that it can be acceptable to the Bangsamoro,” Rodriguez said.
Magdalo Rep. Gary Alejano also said the President wanted Congress to stick as much as possible to the original draft, which the executive department agreed upon with the MILF.
“Mas maganda sa kanya kung hindi malalayo sa present version. Wala siyang sinabing, without any amendments, because he knows imposible yan,” Alejano said.
“That is the interpretation of Rep. Atienza, pero ako na mismong nandun, walang order na ito ang gawin niyo,” he added.
Alejano said the lower chamber remains an independent body not subject to the whims of the president.
Rodriguez appealed to Atienza to stop spreading “speculations” about the meeting, especially since he was not there.
“They should ask those who were present, like me, what the President really said. Nothing more, nothing less… (Otherwise), it will breed speculations which have no basis,” he said.
Rodriguez said the Bangsamoro committee is set to strike out seven provisions in the bill found to be unconstitutional.
Among these are the provisions for the creation of the Bangsamoro audit committee, Ombudsman, civil service, human rights commission, and elections commission.
He said the Bangsamoro government should recognize the national bodies for auditing, elections, anticorruption, civil service, and human rights as enshrined in the Constitution.
Meanwhile, the committee also struck down the provision granting the chief minister primary control over the Bangsamoro police force, saying the latter should be under the supervision of the Philippine National Police.
He said such control over the Bangsamoro police is controversial especially in light of the Mamasapano tragedy.
Rodriguez also said the panel struck down as unconstitutional the provision allowing contiguous areas to be placed under the Bangsamoro entity upon a petition of at least 10 percent of its registered voters.
“(That is tantamount to) creeping territorial expansion. That will be unstable,” Rodriguez said.