P-Noy makes final pitch for BBL

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino made his final pitch yesterday for the passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in his last State of the Nation Address (SONA) before the joint session of the 16th Congress.

Aquino, who wants to make the BBL his main legacy before his steps down from office on June 30 next year, told senators and congressmen that time is running out for lasting peace in Mindanao.

 “To those who are against this law. I think, it’s your obligation to suggest a better solution,” Aquino said in Filipino.

 “If you don’t have any alternative, you’re only guaranteeing that we cannot reach change,” he said.

 “How many more lives will be lost for us to wake up to our obligation to change the damaged status quo in Muslim Mindanao?” he added.

The BBL seeks to create a new autonomous region in Mindanao. It was based on the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) forged between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Petitions have been filed before the Supreme Court to nullify the FAB and the CAB.

The BBL was supposed to be signed into law last May but it ran into strong opposition following the Jan. 25 Mamasapano incident as well as questions on its constitutionality.

Pass Charter change

Aside from the BBL, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.  urged yesterday his colleagues to pass the economic Charter change resolution, another landmark legislation that would ensure lasting growth and peace in the country.

In his speech, Belmonte listed priorities for the House to approve in the remaining months of the legislature, including Resolution of Both Houses No. 1 (RBH 1).

 “By amending the restrictive economic provisions of our Constitution, we empower Congress to enact laws that will attract the kind of investments that will reverse the de-industrialization and de-agriculturalization of our economy,” Belmonte said.

 “Only then can we encourage locators and investors to expand our manufacturing sector, the area where the better paying decent jobs can be created. This is the best strategy to ensure that no Filipino will be left behind,” he said.

 The House was poised to approve RBH 1 on third and final reading last month before Congress adjourned but the voting did not push through despite the large attendance of lawmakers, apparently due to lack of go-signal from Malacañang.

 He also batted for the passage of the BBL, which is facing stiff opposition in plenary over its apparent unconstitutional provisions.

 He said the conflicts in the Bangsamoro “have taken on different forms, rooted in passions that feed on discrimination and deprivations that are fuelled by poverty.”

 He said Congress must address the longstanding grievances of the Bangsamoro people by empowering them to fully provide for their self-expression and development.

“But this has to be complemented by clear and decisive legislative language to accommodate and empower not just the new majority of Muslims in the Bangsamoro, but also for all other groups whose lives, family and work are located in these regionally autonomous areas of the Bangsamoro,” Belmonte said.

He also urged members of the chamber to expedite the passage of other measures including the proposed P3-trillion national budget for 2016, the creation of the Department of Information and Communications Technology; strengthening of the Build-Operate-Transfer Law; modernization of the Philippine Atmospheric and Geophysical Services Administration; Freedom of Information Bill; Tax Incentives Management and Transparency Bill;

The proposed Customs Modernization and Tariff Act; the National Identification System; the pre-paid SIM card registration; the proposed Barangay Officials Welfare and Incentives Act; the Philippine Immigration Act of 2015; the proposed Healthcare Services Price Disclosure Act; and the measure that seeks to ensure that each school division has a center for children with special needs. 

Belmonte also urged the Senate to immediately pass the proposed Archipelagic Sea Lanes Act and the proposed Maritime Zones Act to protect the country’s territorial integrity, even as Congress, “continues to fully, and unequivocally support, the country’s claims over our exclusive economic zones in the West Philippine Sea before the Arbitral Tribunal of the Permanent Court of arbitration at the Hague.”

Other bills

Aquino also called on Congress to push for the legislative agenda of his administration with his remaining 10 months in office, but failed to mention the Freedom of Information bill that he once promised to pass.

 Aside from other bills, the Rationalization of Fiscal Incentives  and the Unified Uniformed Personnel Pension Reform bill, the 2016 national budget which Budget Secretary Florencio Abad will submit to Congress today, and the Anti-Dynasty bills top Aquino’s list.

 He thanked the lawmakers for helping his administration pass landmark laws like the Philippine Competition Law, Allowing Full Entry of Foreign Banks, amendments to Cabotage Law, Sin Tax Reform Act and Responsible Parenthood Act.

Promotion of BBL

Taking the cue from the President, Drilon and Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vowed anew that the BBL will be among the priorities of Congress before Aquino finishes his term next year.

 “We will continue to promote lasting peace and sustainable development in Mindanao through a Bangsamoro Basic Law that is consistent with our Constitution,” Drilon said in his speech.

Marcos, who heads the Senate committee on local governments, said the substitute bill is almost ready for presentation before the plenary.  He also gave assurance that the measure will face constitutional scrutiny. – With Delon Porcalla, Christina Mendez