Duterte meets with congressional leaders anew over BBL

President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday gathered congressional leaders in Malacañang to discuss the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) which he wanted passed this year.

Duterte's spokesperson, Harry Roque, said in a television interview that the President met with Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III, Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, Senate Majority Leader Vicente Sotto III, and Senator Manny Pacquiao prior to presiding the monthly Cabinet meeting.

Also present during the meeting were officials from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), the MILF peace negotiating panel, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza, and Presidential Legislative Liaison Office Secretary Adelino Sitoy, according to a photo released by Malacañang.

President Duterte on Wednesday gathered congressional leaders, officials from MILF and Bangsamoro Transition Commission in Malacañang to discuss the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law which he wanted passed this year. ????: Presidential Photo @gmanews pic.twitter.com/JwKaeJRhiy

— Virgil Lopez (@virgillopez) April 4, 2018

Details of the meeting have yet to be disclosed by the Palace, which came two days after Duterte said he was "racing against time" to have the BBL passed in Congress owing to his commitment to Moro leaders.

This is the third meeting the President has had with members of Congress on the BBL. He previously met them on September 14 last year and on March 13 when congressional leaders vowed to pass the measure by May 30.  

Duterte met with leaders of the MILF, BTC members, and the government peace negotiating panel on March 27 in Davao City, a day after he called for a dialogue with Moro leaders over the BBL.

During the meeting, presidential peace adviser Jesus Dureza said Duterte vowed to relay to the Senate and House of Representatives his desire for the passage of the BBL that is compliant with the Comprehensive Agreement of the Bangsamoro and "as close as possible" to the new draft law submitted by the BTC.

Duterte may also turn to executive action should Congress fail to pass the proposed BBL, a measure seen by several quarters as key to addressing the decades-long strife in Mindanao, according to Dureza.

The BBL aims to end decades of conflict in Mindanao by creating a political entity that would replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. —KBK/BM, GMA News