BBL the last casualty of Mamasapano incident —Drilon

The Bangsamoro Basic Law, the embodiment of the peace agreement between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, could well be the last casualty of the Mamasapano incident, Senate President Franklin Drilon said on Thursday.

In a television interview, President Benigno Aquino III's top ally in the Senate said there's no more time to pass the charter of the new Bangsamoro autonomous region and blamed the Mamasapano incident for the setback.

“Let’s put the record straight. We were on the way to the approval of the BBL. The committee hearings were going smooth until the Mamasapano incident took place,” Drilon said.

More than 60 persons—including 44 police commandos—were killed on January 25, 2015 when the PNP Special Action Force and members of the MILF, its breakaway Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters and private armed groups engaged in clashed in a known MILF territory in Mamasapan.

The peace agreement between the government and the MILF  was signed in March 2014 and the BBL was the centerpiece of the pact.

“In fairness to the legislature, we did our best but you can operate only in a political environment conducive to the passage of this bill," Drilon said.

“Unfortunately, after the Mamasapano incident, the environment became very toxic. I can say that I think the BBL is the 45th victim in Mamasapano,” he added, referring to the 44 commandos who died in the operation.

Congress will adjourn its session on February 5 to give way to the start of the campaign period on February 9. The session will resume on May 23, after the May 9 national and local elections.

With only three session days left, Drilon admitted Friday that the chamber no longer has time to pass the BBL.

“Senator Enrile is still interpellating and the signs are not very good. I don’t think we have enough time. I don’t know if Senator Marcos will be present during the next three days. I am not optimistic that we will be able to pass the BBL in the Senate,” Drilon said in a television interview.

He said with the political environment nowadays, it would not be easy to approve the bill even if President Benigno Aquino III is strongly backing it.

“Unfortunately, and especially given the political environment that we’ve been operating in with the last few weeks, it is extremely difficult to get this through by Wednesday next week. As I’ve said, we will keep on pushing but I don’t think we can pass it,” Drilon said. -NB, GMA News