Distrust in BBL building–Marcos

Sen. Bongbong Marcos INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–With public distrust building against the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), there is a need to ensure that congressional deliberations on the measure would be transparent, Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said.

Marcos, chair of the Senate committee on local government that is leading hearings on the bill, said he expected the distrust following the Mamasapano incident where 44 Special Action Force commandos were ambushed by Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) guerrillas, Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and private armed groups. Seventeen MILF guerrillas and three civilians were also killed.

Marcos said he was saddened by the latest developments and Congress would need to ensure that its hearings on the BBL would remain open to the public.

“We all have to be transparent and accountable in the process of crafting the BBL,” he said.

He said that all the hearings would be public and there would be no executive sessions. Anyone wishing to speak and contribute to the discussion would be allowed to do so.

Sen. Grace Poe, who led the Senate hearings on the Mamasapano incident, doubted the BBL would pass in Congress by June, the deadline Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Senate President Franklin Drilon had promised President Aquino.

Poe said it was not bad to be hopeful and nothing is impossible, adding that the BBL “goes beyond the normal process of Congress.”

It was unlikely to be passed in June, impossible even, she added.

“In June, if we pass it, that means people will be more suspicious of our actions,” she said.