Marcos open to televised meeting with Aquino on BBL

IN THE SPIRIT of transparency, Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. said he is open to the idea of senators having a televised meeting with President Benigno Aquino III to discuss the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

“Sang-ayon ako sa ganun (televised meeting) nang sa gayun ay walang masabi ang kahit na sino na may nangyayari sa meeting na ‘yun na hindi karapat-dapat,” Marcos, chairman of the Senate committee on local government deliberating the BBL, said in a statement on Thursday.

(I am in favor of a televised meeting so that no one can say that there is something unusual in that meeting.)

The senator said a meeting conducted “in full view of the public” would also dispel doubts that it was political in nature.

“Para makatiyak tayo (at makita at marinig ng taumbayan) na ang pag-uusapan ay hindi pulitika kung hindi ‘yung mga kailangang ayusin sa BBL,” he said.
Senator Sergio Osmeña III earlier raised the possibility that some “goodies” might be dangled to senators just to get their support for the BBL.

READ: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/693672/goodies-may-be-dangled-to-get-senators-support-for-bbl-osmena

Marcos has welcomed the President’s statement that he was willing to meet with the senators to discuss the BBL in order to iron out the kinks in the proposed measure.

“As I said before, if we are going to discuss with the President the various issues directly related to BBL and if he has suggestions for us we would certainly listen because his inputs are important,” he said.

But Marcos said the agenda of the meeting should not be political in nature aimed at pressuring the senators into passing the Palace version of BBL.

“I have proper respect for the Office of the President. I am willing to meet with him for the improvement of the BBL. But if the engagement is for political maneuvering, I don’t want to be a party in that meeting,” he said. AC