President Rodrigo Roa Duterte –INQUIRER PHOTO/JOAN BONDOC
President Rodrigo Duterte has personally assured the leadership of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) was a “high priority” bill of his administration, Malacañang said yesterday.
Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said the President met with MILF leaders, led by MILF chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, on Monday and also thanked them for fighting extremists groups in Mindanao and for helping in the Marawi crisis.
“The President assured them that he considers (the BBL as) high priority and vital to the future of Mindanao and the nation,” Abella told a press briefing.
“He’s asking to meet with the Senate President and the Speaker of the House to facilitate the process,” he added.
The BBL defines the basic structure of the proposed Bangsamoro autonomous state in Mindanao, a key feature of the federal form of government being pushed by Mr. Duterte and his allies.
Ebrahim was accompanied during the meeting by Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) chair Ghazali Jaafar, MILF peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal, BTC commissioner Abdulraof Macacau and BTC executive director Esmael Pasigan.
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. and acting Interior Secretary Catalino Cuy attended the meeting.
In a statement, the MILF on Saturday scored the Duterte administration for “noncompliance” with signed peace agreements, noting that no lawmaker had sponsored the proposed BBL.
It also pointed out that the draft BBL was not included in the list of priority bills during the Ledac meeting last week.
Abella said on Monday that the BBL would be tackled during the next Ledac meeting on Sept. 20.
Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez admitted on Tuesday that the draft of the BBL submitted by the Office of the President had not been formally filed with the House of Representatives.
“It has not been filed. It is still with my staff. I told them to study it and give comments before I file it,” he told a press briefing.
On July 17, Mr. Duterte received a draft BBL submitted to him by the BTC in the presence of Congress leaders.
The draft BBL was transmitted to both the House of Representatives and the Senate in August.
Alvarez said its slow movement did not mean the BBL was no longer a priority.
“There are different versions filed by congressmen, including Congresswoman and Deputy Speaker Bai Sema (of Maguindanao) and Khalid Dimaporo (of Lanao del Norte). So far those are the two I know,” he said.
Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has filed her own version of the Bangsamoro bill.
“All these will be consolidated,” Alvarez said.