GPH, MILF panels make progress on draft Bangsamoro Basic Law

Panels from the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have agreed on the langauage and interpretation of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) draft in a conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

According to a joint statement, the two panels ended their special four-day meeting on a positive note on Friday.

The statement added that the meeting allowed both parties to renew their commitment in creating a mutually acceptable draft of the BBL. The panels will hold further continue talks in Manila.

In a report on GMA's “Balitanghali” on Saturday, chief government negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and her MILF counterpart, Mohagher Iqbal said this process is highly important to ensure the law is properly passed in Congress.



The MILF earlier said it expects the BBL to be passed despite the government being caught up in the controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).

MILF Chairman Murad Ebrahim said in a report on GMA's “24 Oras” program on Friday that progress on the BBL has been slow.

“They want to modify some provisions there para daw madaling makapasok sa Congress. Pero sa panig naman namin—Well, we appreciate that effort pero hindi kailangan 'yung kasunduan is ma-dilute,” Ebrahim said.

Last June, the Malacañang and the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) committed that the BBL draft will be submitted to Congress when it resumes session on July 28.

The BBL will have to be put through a plebiscite in Mindanao provinces that are expected to be part of the new Bangsamoro political entity.

The BBL will formalize the creation of the Bangsamoro political entity that will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Its draft which was crafted by the BTC was based on the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro signed in March. — Andrei Medina/JDS, GMA News