Proposed BBL reaches House plenary for sponsorship

Photo of Former CJ Hilario Davide turning over Bbl report to Congressman Rufus Rodriguez BBL committee chair. MARC CAYABYAB/INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO

The proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) reached the plenary of the House of Representatives on Monday, backed by lawmakers who deemed the bill as a measure to finally end the decades-long Moro conflict in Mindanao.

Leading the sponsorship speech was Cagayan de Oro Representative Rufus Rodriguez, chairman of the ad hoc Bangsamoro committee which passed the bill on first reading.

Rodriguez said the committee deliberation that spanned 51 hearings in a span of eight months is the “most inclusive, comprehensive consultation for a piece of legislation in the history of legislation.”

He maintained that the bill does not seek to create a Moro substate but only an autonomous region within the country that enjoys more independence and less intervention from government compared to its local government unit counterparts.

“We’ve already made clear that what we have is not the Bangsamoro nation but a mere region of the country under one republic, one flag, and one national government,” Rodriguez said.

He acknowledged critics of the bill that the BBL is not the magic pill that would solve the decades of conflict in the Mindanao region.

“Centuries of violence, injustice, discrimination and misunderstanding among our brothers and sisters in Mindanao will not be magically swept away once we pass this bill… What we offer through this substitute measure, however, is the chance to achieve peace by addressing all these issues and thrusting them into the public consciousness,” Rodriguez said.

“What we have here now is the chance to understand the plight of our brothers and sisters in Mindanao… This bill will address centuries of inherited disadvantages suffered by our Muslim brothers and sisters, will erase the accretions of antipathies against Muslims… and will be an affirmative action to correct centuries of neglect and injustice…” he added.

Other representatives who sponsored the bill on Monday were Deputy Speaker Pangalian Balindong (2nd District, Lanao del Sur), Rep. Jim Hataman-Salliman (Lone District, Basilan), Rep. Bai Sandra Sinsuat A. Sema (1st District, Maguindanao & Cotabato City), Rep. Henry S. Oaminal (2nd District, Misaamis Occidental), Rep. Tupay T. Loong (1st District, Sulu), Rep. Romeo M. Acop (2nd District, Antipolo City), Rep. Raymond Democrito C. Mendoza (Party-list TUCP) and Deputy Speaker Sergio Apostol.

The House is set to vote for the passage of the proposed Bangsamoro law that would create a more politically autonomous Bangsamoro region to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

This after the ad hoc Bangsamoro committee passed on first reading a version of the bill approved by Malacanang, rousing criticisms that the panel railroaded a mostly Palace version of the bill that seeks to implement a government peace deal with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

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