House likely to take up Bangsamoro bill early next year

House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The House of Representatives is unlikely to be able to tackle the Bangsamoro bill before yearend, as the chamber will devote the next two weeks to budget deliberations and take two sets of long breaks spread over five weeks.

Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said Wednesday all pending measures in the House would have to stand aside for plenary debate on the proposed P2.606 trillion budget for 2015, scheduled from Sept. 15 to 26.

After that, both Houses of Congress will go on a three-week break, resume work for another two weeks, and then take another two-week break, he told reporters at his office.

“I don’t suppose the [bill on the] Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) will reach plenary before the end of the year. I’m not confident it can,” Gonzales said.

For the two weeks beginning Sept. 15, “we’re all budget,” he said, adding there would be no time for other pending measures, including the BBL.

On Wednesday, the House began selection of the 75 members of an ad hoc committee on the Bangsamoro that would deliberate on the Bangsamoro bill drafted by the executive and personally transmitted to Congress by the President on the same day.

Majority members of the ad hoc committee chaired by Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez shall be composed mostly of lawmakers from Mindanao, Gonzales said.

He said representation would also be extended to the minority, comprising seven percent of the body, although it would be up to their leaders to decide on membership.

“I will give them authority to meet next week for organizational purposes before plenary of budget deliberations… maybe at 9 a.m.,” Gonzales said.

He said it was hard to tell how much time it would take to pass the bill.

“We do expect that this will be a controversial bill. I myself have not read this. Until we know, that’s the only time we will know [if this] would this be a free-flowing debate, or would there be any obstacles along the way due to controversial provisions,” Gonzales said.

“The truth of the matter is there’s no rush to file it now [to bereferred to the ad hoc committee]. Anyway the ad hoc committee can meet for organizational purposes even when the bill is not yet referred to it,” he added.

RELATED STORIES

Aquino turns over Bangsamoro bill to Congress

Aquino sees ‘new era’ in Mindanao, as Bangsamoro bill goes to Congress