House leaders shrug off poor BBL rating in survey

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. on Friday shrugged off the results of the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey showing that only six of 10 Filipinos believed that Congress would be able to enact the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) under the Aquino administration.

The nationwide survey also posted generally “poor” net approval ratings on some proposals in the Framework Agreement of the Bangsamoro (FAB), including the dissolution of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and the creation of a new police force for the Bangsamoro region.

Belmonte dismissed similar sentiments coming from senators who were skeptical about the prospect of passing the proposed law creating a new Bangsamoro region in Mindanao in time.

“We will try our best in the House [of Representatives]. Bahala sila sa Senate (Let them do their thing in the Senate),” Belmonte said in a text message.

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chair of the House ad hoc panel on the BBL, also remained optimistic.

“I am confident that we will finish by June 11. We will be through with the interpellation by Thursday. I’m confident that there will be a comfortable majority that will vote for the bill,” he told a forum organized by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.

The House is in the middle of plenary debates on the BBL, with only four days of session left before sine die adjournment on June 11. More than 30 lawmakers are on the list of those who want to ask questions, but only a handful of them have finished their interpellation.

The 290-strong chamber will try to wrap up deliberations on second reading on Thursday.

Rodriguez said opposition to the BBL was largely due to a “lack of working knowledge on the bill.”

“Not one provision in the substitute bill is unconstitutional. I challenge those who have issues on the bill to raise their points,” he said.

On the charge that the House version had been “watered down,” Rodriguez said: “We’ve enhanced and improved the bill to provide the Bangsamoro genuine autonomy within constitutional bounds. We watered it up.”

But he stressed that time was of the essence, and that transition should start soon. “If we dillydally, there will be a shorter time to lay the groundwork,” he said.

The proposed law would repeal Republic Act No. 9054, which created the ARMM, giving more funds and political rights to the new Bangsamoro government.

It defines the Bangsamoro people and geographical area, identifies its exclusive rights as well as those shared with the national government and provides for a parliamentary form of government for its leaders.

Public pessimistic

But the public remains pessimistic on the passage of the BBL, with only 66 percent of SWS respondents nationwide saying that the bill will likely be passed in the Congress under Mr. Aquino’s term, while 32 percent saying otherwise, yielding a “bad” net score (approval minus disapproval) of -34.

“Filipino adults who say they know the proposed BBL extensively have favorable views about it. On the other hand, those who say they know nothing about it are the ones most opposed to it,” SWS said in a statement.

According to the survey, 48 percent said they disapproved of the proposed BBL, while 23 percent approved and 28 percent expressed indecision, resulting in a record-low “poor” net score of -24.

Net approval was highest among those who said they had “extensive knowledge” about the BBL at +28, and lowest among those who said they had “almost none” at -35.

Knowledge about the proposed BBL was more pronounced among Muslims (58 percent) compared with those among Catholics (13 percent), other Christians (19 percent) and members of the Iglesia ni Cristo (27 percent).

Nationwide, 83 percent had only “a little or almost no knowledge” on the BBL while 17 percent had “extensive or partially sufficient knowledge” about it.

The SWS considers a rating of +70 and above “excellent”; +50 to +69, “very good”; +30 to +49, “good”; +10 to +29, “moderate”, +9 to -9, “neutral”; -10 to -29, “poor”; -30 to -49, “bad”; -0 to -69, “very bad”; and -70 and below, “execrable.”

Repulsive sentiment

On specific proposals in the FAB, the SWS found that disagreement was the sentiment of 46 percent of respondents on the dissolution of the ARMM that will be replaced by the more expanded Bangsamoro. Twenty-six percent either agreed or were undecided on the matter, posting a net score of “poor” -19.

Likewise, 46 percent disapproved of having a new police force for the Bangsamoro, while 31 percent approved and 21 percent expressed indecision, yielding a “poor” net score of -15.

On using Sharia not only in divorce and inheritance cases but also in other cases in the Bangsamoro, 46 percent expressed disapproval, 23 percent approved and 27 percent were undecided, resulting in a “poor” net score of -23.

Forty-seven percent disapproved on having own rules for all government employees in Bangsamoro, while 26 percent approved and 24 percent were undecided, yielding a “poor” -21 net rating.

Disapproval was the sentiment of 55 percent of respondents on the selection of a chief minister to be voted upon by the legislators instead by the voters, while 21 percent approved and 22 were undecided, resulting in a “bad” -34 net rating.

The national survey, conducted from March 20 to 23, used face-to-face interviews with 1,200 adult respondents. It had a margin of error of plus-or-minus 3 percentage points. With a report from

Inquirer Research

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