Bangsamoro law seen to draw investors in Mindanao

TACLOBAN CITY, Philippines—The passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) will attract investors and benefit not only the people in Mindanao but also those in the Visayas and Luzon, Assistant Secretary Jennifer Oreta of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process said on Monday.

“It’s for peace and development. We are still in the take-off stage in so far as development is concerned … because the armed conflict in Mindanao is affecting the decisions of the investors to come to the Philippines,” said Oreta, who was in this city to solicit support for the measure.

The office hopes the draft BBL will be approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate by June 11, the deadline President Aquino had set, she said.

While the President hopes to see the passage of the proposed BBL on the target date, Aquino will not resort to “arm-twisting,” she said.

“Both are independent bodies. He will not do that. The least he could do is to use moral suasion to influence them,” Oreta said.

Leyte Rep. Sergio Apostol, the most senior among the region’s 12 congressmen, said he would only accede to the passage of the BBL if some of its provisions would be amended, like those pertaining to the audit commission, separate police force and territory.

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