Senate can pass Bangsamoro law by June —Drilon

Senate President  Franklin Drilon on Wednesday maintained that the Senate could still pass the controversial Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) before the Congress adjourns sine die on June 30.

 

“That is a realistic deadline for us, that is the deadline for the BBL (passage),” Drilon said in a chance interview when ask if it is still feasible for the Senate to meet the new deadline for BBL’S approval despite issues about the constitutionality of some of the bill’s provisions and the public’s growing clamor for the junking of the measure following the January 25 Mamasapano incident.

 

On Monday, the Senate and the House of Representatives leadership have agreed on  June 30 as their new self-imposed deadline for the BBL’s passage.

 

 The Senate and the House have earlier set March as their deadline for passing the measure but the January 25 Mamasapano incident which caused the death of 44 Philippine National Police Special Action Force (SAF) troopers, led the respective committees of the Senate and the House to suspend their  deliberations of the measure

 

“In so far as we are concerned, we have a self-imposed deadline of until June to tackle this BBL. Titingnan po natin kung ang mga probisyon ng panukalang batas na ito ay naayon sa Saligang Batas,” Drilon said.

 

Drilon said he will soon talk to Sen. Bongbong Marcos, chairman of the Senate committee on local government on the new timeline for the BBL’s deliberations and approval.

 

The Senate committee on local government is the one deliberating on the Senate’s version of the BBL.

 

Sen. Teofisto “TG” Guingona earlier in the day said that if the Congress failed to pass the BBL by June, it could be too late for it to be passed under the Aquino administration.

 

Meanwhile, in a separate interview, Marcos said that his committee will do its best to achieve the new deadline, but maintained all the contentious provisions of the measure will be extensively deliberated.

 

“Siguro baka kakayanin (maipasa sa June)…As usual gipit sa oras pero gagawin natin ang lahat para abutin natin  yung end of session (deadline),” Marcos said.

 

He said though he and Drilon have yet to talk regardin the new deadline for the BBL’s passage, they have an earlier agreement that the BBL’s passage will not be railroaded.

 

“Wala pa naman siyang sinasabi. Pero may usapan naman kami noon pa e, na hindi namin mamadaliin ang mga discussions pero meron kaming timetable. So susubukan natin bumalik sa bagong timetable,” Marcos said.

 

Marcos said that except in Sulu and Zamboanga, his committee is almost finished with conducting hearings in the provinces in Mindanao which are seen to be affected by the BBL.

 

“Pagkatapos nung sa Sulu at Zamboanga, yung mga hearing na dito na sa Manila… pagkatapos ng hearings sa Manila, isusulat na namin yung mga amendments. So baka pwede pa nga siguro ma-meet (ang June deadline),” Marcos said.

 

Marcos, however, reiterated that his committee will not resume the deliberations on the BBL until the  PNP and the MILF submits their respective reports on the Mamasapano incident.

 

Marcos said his committee will also await the findings of Senate’s own probe on the Mamasapano incident conducted by the  committee on public order and dangerous drugs chaired by Sen. Grace Poe. —NB, GMA News