Marcos vows to continue hearings on BBL amid Senate recess

Senator Bongbong Marcos. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., chairman of the Senate committee on local government, vowed on Tuesday to conduct public hearings on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) even if Congress is on break.

Congress will adjourn its sessions on March 21 and will resume on May 4 until June 11.

“We can still continue working during the (adjournment). Pwede namang mag-hearing kahit na mag-break (ang Senado),” Marcos said in a statement.

The senator issued the statement after leaders of the Congress reportedly agreed to pass the BBL by June this year.

Marcos suspended public hearings on the BBL after the January 25 Mamasapano clash where 44 Special Action Force commandos were killed by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF).

While the “self-imposed deadline” for Congress to pass the BBL was “so tight,” the senator said he would do his best to meet the timetable.

“It’s always been tight…’Yung June, baka kakayanin pero titingnan natin,” he said in an interview over radio.

Marcos said he was just waiting for the reports of both the Board of Inquiry of the Philippine National Police and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, as well as the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs, which conducted separate investigations on the Mamasapano incident, before scheduling the resumption of the BBL hearing.

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