Palace: Congress to pass BBL by end of May

Lawmakers have committed to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) by the end of May, a measure President Rodrigo Duterte has said is necessary in order for the administration's goal of shifting the country's form of government to federalism to move forward.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said that congressional leaders, including Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III and House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, who met with Duterte in Malacañang on Tuesday, vowed to pass the BBL by May 30.

"We cannot fail on this. The next generation is counting on us," Roque quoted the President as saying in his Facebook page.

Roque added that the President said the Consultative Committee (Con-com) tasked to propose a federal charter "can provide a template" for the BBL.

Both the Senate and House of Representatives are currently holding consultations on the BBL, which aims to end decades of strife in Mindanao by creating a political entity that would replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Duterte earlier raised the possibility of a war in Mindanao if Congress failed to pass the BBL or if the proposed shift to a federal form of government will not push through. — BM, GMA News