Congress about to adjourn, Bangsamoro law still in Malacañang

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Almost two months after its draft was first submitted to the Office of the President, the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) has yet to be green-lighted by Malacañang and submitted to Congress.

Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda on Monday confirmed that the BBL “is still being evaluated and studied by the Office of the President.”

The BBL, submitted to Malacañang on April 14 by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), is the enacting law of the final peace pact between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The Commission on Elections earlier said it will have to be approved into law this year to give them enough time to prepare for the 2016 elections. The BBL will serve as the basis for the creation of the Bangsamoro political entity which will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The BBL was supposed to be submitted to the legislative last May 5 but a month has passed and Congress, which will adjourn on June 13, has yet to receive its copy.

Asked what was taking too long, Lacierda said President Benigno Aquino III’s legal team is going through “each and every provision just to be sure.”

He said the proposed measure should be “in sync” with all the agreements made by the two parties.

“We are here to review that it complies with the provision of the CAB (Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro). We’re also making sure that it will stand judicial scrutiny,” he explained.

Lacierda said that when they forward the draft bill to Congress, they want proceedings to be “as smooth as possible.”

Critics of the agreement, including Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, insisted that it was unconstitutional because it diminished the sovereignty of the Philippine government.

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