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Bicam to reconcile conflicting provisions of Bangsamoro Basic Law

Mara Cepeda

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Bicam to reconcile conflicting provisions of Bangsamoro Basic Law
The work is cut out for the lawmakers forming the bicameral conference committee on the Bangsamoro Basic Law, with its House and Senate versions proposing conflicting amendments

MANILA, Philippines – The House of Representatives and the Senate are set to spend the whole week reconciling several contentious and conflicting provisions of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

From Monday, July 9 to Friday, July 13, a total of 29 legislators will gather at the Ballroom A of Crowne Plaza Manila Galleria for the bicameral conference committee meetings on the BBL.

The BBL, if passed into law, will create a new and more powerful Bangsamoro region to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

In exchange, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has committed to decommission its troops and end its decades-long armed struggle. The MILF would then create a new political party and participate in governing the Bangsamoro.

But the BBL bicam debates will be long and exhaustive, with lawmakers expected to burn their eyebrows as they tackle the significant differences between House Bill (HB) No. 6475 and Senate Bill (SB) No. 1717. (READ: Difficult work ahead to reconcile Senate, House versions of BBL)

Among the significant amendments in HB 6475 and SB 1717 is the lowering of the Bangsamoro region’s annual block grant or its share of the national internal revenue from the proposed 6% or P72 billion to 5% or P59 billion. 

The Senate version also removed the Bangsamoro’s power over all other areas not on the list. 

The House version, meanwhile, allows only one plebiscite to be held for cities and provinces sharing a common border with the Bangsamoro to join the region. The BTC originally wanted a plebisicite to be held every 25 years. 

The Senate also seeks to ban political dynasties in the Bangsamoro, prohibiting party representatives to run for office if he or she is related up to the 2nd civil degree of consanguinity or affinity to another party or district representative in the same parliament. 

The BBL versions to be tackled by the bicam have already been criticized for being a watered down versions of the original one proposed by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC).

Members of the MILF and civil groups from the Marawi City and Lanao del Sur want the deleted provisions of the BBL restored. (READ: Final version of BBL holds fate of Mindanao peace process)

The pressure is now on for the bicam members, who must be able to reconcile both the House and Senate versions before President Rodrigo Duterte’s 3rd State of the Nation Address (SONA) in the afternoon of July 23.

The President is expected to sign the BBL into law the morning before he delivers his 3rd SONA.

The complete list of bicam members on the BBL are as follows:

House of Representatives Senate

Rodolfo Fariñas, Majority Leader (Ilocos Norte 1st District)

Bai Sandra Sema, Deputy Speaker (Maguindanao 1st District)

Pedro Acharon Jr (South Cotabato 1st District)

Mauyag Papandayan Jr (Lanao del Sur 2nd District)

Ruby Sahali (Tawi-Tawi)

Juan Pablo Bondoc (Pampanga 4th District)

Arthur Defensor Jr (Iloilo 3rd District)

Johnny Pimentel (Surigao del Sur 2nd District)

Eugene de Vera (Arts Business and Science Professionals)

Rodolfo Albano III (Isabela 1st District)

Amihilda Sangcopan (Anak Mindanao)

Wilter Wee Palma II (Zamboanga Sibugay 1st District)

Celso Lobregat (Zamboanga City 1st District)

Mohamad Dimaporo (Lanao del Norte 1st District)

Abdullah Dimaporo (Lanao del Norte 2nd District)

Romeo Acop (Antipolo 2nd District)

Seth Frederick Jalosjos (Zamboanga del Norte 1st District)

Shernee Abubakar Tan (KUSUG TAUSUG)

Rodante Marcoleta (1-SAGIP)

Juan Miguel Zubiri, Majority Leader

Juan Edgardo Angara

Aquilino Pimentel III

Sherwin Gatchalian

Joel Villanueva

Francis Escudero

Franklin Drilon

Risa Hontiveros

Loren Legarda

Francis Pangilinan

 

– Rappler.com

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Mara Cepeda

Mara Cepeda specializes in stories about politics and local governance. She covers the Office of the Vice President, the Senate, and the Philippine opposition. She is a 2021 fellow of the Asia Journalism Fellowship and the Reham al-Farra Memorial Journalism Fellowship of the UN. Got tips? Email her at mara.cepeda@rappler.com or tweet @maracepeda.