Senate BBL panel head won’t commit to June OK

MANILA, Philippines - Congressional leaders believe they can meet their target for approving the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), except for Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who leads the Senate panel deliberating on the controversial measure.

Marcos, chairman of the committee on local government, said it would be difficult to have the measure approved before June 11 this year or when the second regular session of Congress adjourns.

Marcos suspended the hearings on the BBL after the Jan. 25 clash in Mamasapano, Maguindanao that left 44 members of the Special Action Force dead at the hands of guerrillas of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

Senate President Franklin Drilon has urged Marcos to resume the hearings on the BBL now that the Senate committee on public order and dangerous drugs has concluded its own hearings on the Mamasapano clash.

Drilon and Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. led several of their colleagues in a meeting on the BBL at Club Filipino in San Juan yesterday.

A consensus was reportedly reached to pass the BBL by June this year.

Marcos said that he would resume hearings on the BBL once he gets reports on the investigations being conducted by various agencies and organizations into the Mamasapano clash.

He said that he still intends to go to Jolo and Zamboanga to conduct public consultations regarding the BBL once he decides to resume the hearings.

“We have to continue the peace process. And until we regain the trust of the people in the peace process, this cannot succeed,” Marcos said.

“So in order to restore the trust of the people, we need to find out the truth about what took place (in Mamasapano). So that’s the way I see it,” he added.

He argued that the creation of a Bangsamoro government is one of several steps toward attaining peace in Mindanao.

“We still have to think about all the other things that need to be done. We will try as best as we can to include all of those ideas, all of those principles and all of those concepts in the BBL so that when it is finally passed – and that is something we are going to be working on – the BBL is robust and can withstand any mistakes or obstacles,” Marcos said.

Waiting for BOI report

Cagayan de Oro City Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said his ad hoc committee on the proposed BBL would only resume its hearings on the measure after receiving the report of the Board of Inquiry on its own investigation.

He said his panel was scheduled to resume its hearings this week but decided to hold off as the BOI report would only be ready by March 6.

“Unfortunately, the board of inquiry (BOI) will submit its report to Local Government Secretary Mar Roxas on March 6 yet. Therefore, we will not be able to resume our work the whole week this week. We hope they can submit the report to us next week,” he said.

He added that once they have the report, they would resume the committee’s executive sessions on the draft BBL and the panel might have to summon Director Benjamin Magalong, BOI chairman; PNP officer-in-charge Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina; and Gen. Gregorio Pio Catapang, chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Rodriguez pointed out that the work of his panel is in aid of legislation and that it does not intend to find out what happened in Mamasapano.

He said he and his colleagues would like to hear the views of Espina and Catapang on provisions in the proposed BBL requiring the President to coordinate with the chief minister of the envisioned Bangsamoro regional government whenever the military or the police conduct operations in the region.

Muntinlupa Rep. Rodolfo Biazon, who chairs the House defense committee, said he would like such provisions removed.

The required coordination would diminish the authority of the President, he said.

Rodriguez said if the BOI could submit its report to his committee next week, the panel could then begin working on the remaining provisions of the BBL relating to public order and safety and national security.

Since Congress will go on a six-week Lenten break on March 20, he said the committee would be able to finish its work when the House reconvenes by the first week of May.

“When we reconvene on May 4, we can continue our deliberations in the committee. Then we can vote on it within two weeks. That means that May 18 will be the next target for voting in the committee and we can then submit our report to the plenary,” he said.

He added that the House could tackle the committee’s version of the BBL by the middle of May up to June 11, when Congress goes on its annual mandatory adjournment before its third and last regular session, which starts on July 27.

“It’s tight, but I hope we can finish it before our mandatory adjournment,” he said.

Meanwhile, Vice President Jejomar Binay reiterated yesterday his call for Congress not to rush the passage of the BBL.

“Let’s not force it to ripen. Even fruits when you force them to ripen will turn out sour. Let us have an agreement which is a product of a serious and totally studied, not a product of a deadline being set,” Binay said in an interview in Binmaley, Pangasinan.

“We all want lasting peace in Mindanao… but we need to study it carefully,” he stressed.

Binay said there are several constitutional issues that need to be addressed first before approving the measure. He did not elaborate. – Jess Diaz, Helen Flores