De Lima backs Duterte’s call for immediate approval of BBL

Although a staunch critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, Senator Leila de Lima on Tuesday expressed support for Duterte's appeal to Congress to immediately approve the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

De Lima said the draft BBL “represents a huge and monumental first step at addressing the long-standing aspirations of our Muslim brothers and sisters.”

“I am in full support of the President’s call for the immediate passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law,” De Lima said in a statement.

De Lima, however, said the draft BBL pending in Congress needed “some tweaking or fine-tuning.”

“In my view, only some tweaking or fine-tuning of a few provisions is needed so as to hurdle any constitutional challenge to this special piece of legislative measure,” the senator said.

She pointed out that according to former presidential adviser on peace process Teresita “Ging” Deles, the current version of the proposed BBL “bears no radical departure from, as it is essentially the same” as the version crafted during the previous administration.

The BBL was supposed to the be the legal framework of the peace deal signed during the Aquino administration and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The proposal, however, failed to get the approval of Congress in the aftermath of the Mamasapano clash that killed 44 Special Action Force (SAF) personnel.

“We cannot afford to miss this yet another big shot at peace and stability in the region,” De Lima said.

“Time is indeed running out. I don't see any other option, except chaos and more sufferings for the people, Moros and Christians alike, in the region,” she added.

On Sunday, Duterte warned of “trouble” if the BBL is not approved immediately.

“I have committed to the main rebellion fronts, the MI pati MN, that we will work for a federal setup and maybe grant them the territories that they want and the kind of framework of governance that they expect with a reformation of all the things in the Philippines,” Duterte said referring to the MILF, and the Moro National Liberation Front.

“If we do not act on it expeditiously, I think that we are headed for a trouble. We must continue to talk and I will urge Congress to fast-track it because they are getting impatient,” Duterte added. — MDM, GMA News