Ad hoc panel chair sees House passage of Bangsamoro bill by March 2015

The chairman of the House of Representative's ad hoc committee which is deliberating on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) said on Tuesday that he expected the Lower House to pass the measure on third and final reading by March 2015.

 

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said the panel had just two more hearings on House Bill 4994 in January next year before the committee votes to pass the measure.

 

“We expect the bill to be approved by the House by March 15,” Rodriguez added.

 

Rodriguez and other House leaders had originally planned to have the Bangsamoro bill, which formalizes the creation of the new political entity replacing the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), passed this December. 

 

The December target was supposed to give the government ample time to prepare for the plebiscite next year.

 

House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II, meanwhile, explained that the ad hoc panel was taking its time, making sure it consults with as many stakeholders as possible.

 

“The committee is very serious with the consultations because there are issues about the bill that we have to resolve. These issues will have to be resolved before the measure goes to the floor,” Gonzales said.

 

With two more hearings scheduled, January 19 and 20, the committee has invited governors and mayors of the envisioned Bangsamoro core territory to attend the first hearing, with resource persons from various factions of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) expected to attend on the second day.

 

As for the issues the BBL has to resolve before it can passed, one that Rodriguez wants particularly to deal with is the provision that mandates the creation of the Bangsamoro Civil Service Office, audit body and human rights commission. 

 

Rodriguez wants the provision removed because they might diminish the inherent power of constitutional bodies.

 

The panel chair explained that the entire 75-member panel would have to vote on whether there are portions of the bill that need to be scrapped or amended. — DVM, GMA News