Senate resumes plenary sessions on BBL

Senate President Franklin Drilon INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

After a break of more than a month, the Senate resumes its plenary session on Monday with the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) and economic reforms at the top of its agenda.

Senate President Franklin Drilon on Friday said the upper chamber would devote “extra time and effort” to ensure that the BBL was “constitutional, fair and inclusive” in line with the government’s bid to end decades-long strife in Mindanao.

“The passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law continues to be important for the upper chamber. It will receive special legislative attention in the coming weeks,” Drilon said in a statement.

He said once the committee on local government, chaired by Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., submits its report on the BBL to the body, it would be immediately calendared 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.

Aside from the urgent BBL, the Senate will also give attention to other bills, including economic reforms to help the country keep up with regional developments, such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) economic integration this year.

Other bills to be taken up include the Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Act (Timta) and the creation of a Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Drilon said.

The passage of Timta aims to promote transparency and accountability in the grant of tax incentives to businesses, he said.

On the other hand, the creation of the DICT aims to help the country manage and develop its burgeoning information and communications technology sector, according to Drilon.

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

He said the Senate would also work for the passage of the Customs and Tariff Modernization Act (CTMA), which aims to reduce smuggling and make customs procedures and operations more simple and transparent.

He said the Senate is also expected to pass on third and final reading three proposed bills: 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.