Senators cool to special session for BBL

MANILA, Philippines — The holding of a special session of Congress to tackle the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), much less approve it this year, is unlikely, senators said yesterday.

Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III said the committee on local governments, chaired by Sen. Sonny Angara, has yet to conduct hearings on the BBL.

“All I know is that we will have very busy days ahead. I will coordinate with the majority and minority on the BBL,” Pimentel told reporters.

Pimentel filed the BBL in the Senate last Nov. 6.

Even if the Senate holds a special session through Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, it is not possible to pass the BBL this year, according to Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III.

“Not even a special session can fast-track it to be passed into law this year. It contains 289 sections that hearings alone can take so much time. We need the Christmas break for our families,” Sotto said.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson said Congress could conduct committee hearings on BBL even without Duterte calling for a special session. 

“Unless the intention is to pass the measure before yearend, which is impossible considering the complex and contentious issues involved in its provisions, a special session may not be necessary,” Lacson said.

Sen. Francis Escudero stressed it was Duterte’s prerogative to call a special session “anytime Congress is in recess.”

Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian said he fully supports the administration’s inclusive approach to building peace and prosperity in Muslim Mindanao.

However, the BBL still has to undergo rigorous legislative scrutiny, he said. 

Gatchalian pointed out the complicated legislative history of the bill has made it clear that nothing less than a perfect BBL draft will be able to meet the difficult standards of constitutionality, which is inherent in its nature.

“I urge all stakeholders and advocates of the bill to remain patient and cooperative while the Senate performs due diligence on the BBL,” he said.

Congressmen said there is no more need to hold a special session to tackle the BBL.

They said they could pass the bill upon the initiative of Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.

House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas said no less than Alvarez has assured the President that the chamber will pass the measure before they adjourn on March 21 next year.

“The Speaker has given his commitment to the President that we will finish it before we adjourn on March 21. We need to hold a public hearing on it. So the committee has set a schedule to go around the involved areas, the stakeholders,” he said. 

Fariñas said that since the concerned committees of the House must conduct the public hearings, their schedule would be in conflict if a special session is called before the end of the year.

“So we will request the President that there is no need to hold a special session and we will try to finish it before we adjourn on March 21,” he said.

The House committee on local government is the lead committee tasked to deliberate on the proposed BBL, in cooperation with the committees on peace and reconciliation and Muslim affairs. 

Fariñas said these committees have scheduled their respective public consultations for next month.

He said the BBL had been discussed under the previous Congress and this would help expedite the process.

Fariñas expressed confidence that the leadership can muster enough numbers to ensure the passage of the measure.

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman said the draft law must first be “cleansed of constitutional infirmities, foremost of which is the legislative abolition of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), whose establishment is mandated by the 1987 Constitution.”

“No amendment to the Charter is allowed by ordinary statute. Accordingly, there is need for a prior constitutional amendment to replace ARMM with the expanded and more powerful Bangsamoro autonomous region,” he said. –Delon Porcalla, Jess Diaz, Artemio Dumlao