Aquino following up on Bangsamoro law

MANILA, Philippines – President Benigno Aquino III is checking on the progress of his office’s review of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), following concerns about its delayed submission to Congress.

Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said the President is aware of the need to submit the bill to Congress soon to meet the administration’s deadline of passing it within the year.

“The President himself has made several follow-ups on the legal team….He mentioned to me the other day that he saw the draft of the Basic Law and it was almost two or three inches thick,” Valte said in an interview on Saturday, May 24.

“So he said, ‘I am very cognizant of the urgency but I’m also understanding of the task at hand,” she added.

Valte though did not say when the Palace will be able to complete the review. 

Valte’s statement comes after Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said he was worried about the delay in the Palace’s review of the law that will create the region replacing the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

“Frankly speaking, I am quite disturbed [over the delay] because I know time is running out… I am not saying [the delay] is bad but I am saying that as an ordinary person, I am looking at the whole process as something very urgent,” Iqbal said in an Inquirer report.

Iqbal is also the chairman of the 15-member Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), which drafted the bill. The BTC submitted a draft of the bill to Malacañang on April 14, and the complete document on April 21.

Expedite review

Congressional leaders expected the Palace to submit its version of the bill when session resumed on May 5 but it missed the target date. Lawmakers said they hoped to begin work on the bill before session adjourns on June 13.

On its website Luwaran.com, the rebel group MILF stressed the need for the Office of the President to expedite its review of the bill.

“With time moving so fast, it is our wish that all parties must tighthen their belt to ensure the smooth-sailing of the BBL. For sure, we do not have the benefit of so much time at our disposal,” read the editorial dated May 23-30. 

The MILF said it will closely monitor the movement of the bill. The group said while it trusted Aquino, it anticipated critics questioning the legislation.

“Sure enough, the dose of medicine contained in the BBL, as crafted by the BTC, will not please everybody’s taste. This includes people whose vocation and forte is to see only the legal side of the document or argument. In such an eventuality, the long haul ahead can be predicted.”

The MILF added that the bill was largely based on the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), a historic document it signed with the government on March 27 to end decades of fighting in Mindanao. (INFOGRAPHIC: The Bangsamoro peace deal at a glance)

It added that other provisions were culled from recommendations of civil society organizations, non-governmental organizations, local government units and peace workers. 

The Bangsamoro bill translates the CAB into legislation that will create the Bangsamoro political entity, a region with greater powers than the ARMM. One of the poorest regions in the country and known as the cheating capital of the Philippines, ARMM has been in Aquino’s words “a failed experiment.”  

‘We should all be worried’

Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, who hails from Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao, also called on Malacañang to hasten the review.

“The submission has been delayed and we should all be worried about it. The draft bill should be submitted as soon as possible,” Pimentel told Rappler on Saturday.

Senate President Franklin Drilon and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr committed to prioritize the bill and pass it by the end of 2014 to give the administration enough time for a plebiscite, transition, and the election of officials in 2016.

The two leaders of Congress though said Malacañang has yet to transmit the bill to their desks.

The bill is expected to be a contentious measure, with lawmakers questioning its constitutionality and its impact on their affected districts. – Ayee Macaraig/Rappler.com