Congressman Miro Quimbo. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — The timeline for Congress to pass the Bangsamoro basic bill by June is not imposed by anyone in a bid to railroad the bill within the present administration, a majority solon said Tuesday.
In a press conference, Marikina Representative Romero “Miro” Quimbo said the new timeline was not imposed by anybody, not even President Benigno Aquino III, whose allies dominate the lower chamber of Congress.
“The timeline (to pass the BBL by June) is not imposed by anybody. It is imposed by us, if only to make it successful,” said Quimbo, who was in the powerhouse meeting with both Houses of Congress at Club Filipino on Monday to map out their legislative agenda particularly on the fate of the BBL.
Quimbo said that the deadline was meant to make sure the process remains ongoing for the passage of the bill seeking to implement the peace deal between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and create a more politically autonomous Bangsamoro entity.
He said if the Congress fails to pass the bill by June, “the BBL is dead.”
He explained that the Commission on Elections will need four to six months after June to conduct a plebiscite among the residents of the Bangsamoro core area to ratify the bill.
Congress may not be able to tackle the bill after June because district representatives will be out in their districts preparing for the elections, Quimbo added.
The ratification of the BBL will still be followed by the creation of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority that would serve as the interim government in the Bangsamoro during the transition period.
The administration will then have less than a half a year in 2016 to set up the Bangsamoro transition government before the President steps down in June.
“If [we] approve it after the June break, hindi na kayang i-implement correctly. Realistically, we are not bound by an imposition (of anyone) but by time,” Quimbo said.
“It’s important for the Transition Authority to have enough time to place the desired changes you need,” he added.
The majority solon also assured that the June deadline is not so much a form of pressure for Congress to approve the bill than a reminder for them to finally decide on the fate of BBL.
“It’s a deadline for us to decide. It’s not a deadline for Congress to approve it,” Quimbo said.
Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles backed up Quimbo, saying the new deadline only served as “guidelines” for lawmakers to keep in mind the urgency to pass the bill for peace.
“The deadline is there as guidelines. You really have to put guideposts for all of us. The leadership has just given us the guidelines,” Nograles said in the same press conference.
The passage of the BBL was rocked due to waning support by lawmakers in the aftermath of the Mamasapano tragedy, the Jan. 25 operational disaster meant to take down two terrorists in Maguindanao which ended in the deaths of 44 Special Action Force (SAF) cops at the hands of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and the MILF, the main benefactors of the BBL.
Quimbo said the BBL should not be held hostage by the involvement of the MILF in the attack.
“The BBL cannot also end simply with the sacrifice of 44 people. If it ends that way, nakakalungkot naman (it’s saddening). The very same violence that produced their deaths is the same violence the BBL seeks to stop,” Quimbo said.
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