Senate to prioritize passage of ‘constitutional, inclusive and fair’ BBL

Senate President Franklin Drilon. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) remains the top priority of the upper chamber of Congress when it resumes its sessions next week, Senate President Franklin Drilon said  on Friday.

Congress is set to resume its sessions on Monday, May 4.

“The passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law continues to be important for the upper chamber. It will receive a special legislative attention in the coming weeks. We will devote extra time and effort to ensure the passage of a BBL that is constitutional, fair and inclusive – one that will help end the decades of strife in Mindanao,” Drilon said in a statement.

“Once the committee on local government, chaired by Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. submits its report on the BBL to the body, we will immediately calendar it for discussion. We expect strong debates on the floor over the passage of this bill. We all acknowledge the necessity of this piece of legislation to ensure genuine peace and growth for our brothers and sisters in Mindanao,” he added.

Marcos’ committee temporarily halted its hearings on the BBL immediately after the Mamasapano incident last January 24 that left at least 44 elite policemen and several Moro fighters dead.

READ: Marcos: BBL stalls until there’s ‘complete picture’ of Mamasapano incident

READ: BBL is in ‘coma,’ says Marcos

READ: Senate resumes BBL hearings since Mamasapano

Aside from the BBL, Drilon said, the Senate would also devote attention to other bills, including economic reforms to help the country cope with regional developments, such as the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) economic integration this year.

He said some of the bills that would be taken up by the chamber include the proposed Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act (TIMTA) and the creation of a Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

The passage of TIMTA, the Senate leader said, would promote transparency and accountability in the grant of tax incentives to business entities, while the creation of the DICT would help the country manage and develop its burgeoning information and communications technology sector.

Drilon said the Senate would also work on a legislation that would strengthen the public-private partnership scheme to address the infrastructure backlog in the country.

The Senate, he said, would likewise work for the passage of the proposed Customs and Tariff Modernization Act (CTMA) to reduce smuggling and make customs procedure and operations more simple and transparent.

“We intend to advance the discussions on the CTMA to address the most pressing problems of the Bureau of Customs,” he said.

Apart from helping end the P200 billion annual dent to state revenues caused by smuggling and illegal transactions, Drilon said “automating the BOC’s  (Bureau of Customs) systems and lessening human intervention would make customs procedures faster and more credible.”

The Senate is also eyeing to pass on third and final reading three proposed measures — Senate Bill No. 2280 which seeks to amend the Probation Law of 1976, SBN 2518 which aims to remove the conditions for the condonation of all unpaid taxes due from local water districts, and House Bill No. 945 which seeks to declare the last full week of August as Armed Forces of the Filipino People Week.

Drilon said 33 Senate bills were already on advanced stages of legislation before the upper chamber went on recess last March.

“We will work hard and do all we can to make the remaining time in our 2nd regular session productive and meaningful by finishing the priority measures pending on the floor and advancing other key reform measures that are still at the committee level,”  he further said. IDL

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