Actor Robin Padilla to drum up support for Bangsamoro bill

Actor Robin Padilla has expressed willingness to help the government raise awareness about the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law by traveling to the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to discuss the bill with Christians and Muslims.

 

“Hindi po imposible kung hihingin ‘yun sa atin ng gobyerno. Pwede tayong makipagtulungan sa gobyerno para magawa ‘yun,” Padilla told reporters Thursday when asked about going to Mindanao to explain the Bangsamoro bill's provisions to stakeholders in the ARMM. 
 

Padilla was at the House of Representatives to show support for the photo exhibit on Badjaos organized by the party-list.  He met reporters at the office of Anak Mindanao party-list Rep. Sitti Djalia Turabin-Hataman.

 

When asked which areas in Mindanao he plans to visit, the actor said he would prioritize the ARMM because its residents “[needed] to be the first to believe in the bill (sila ang unang dapat maniwala).”

 

The Bangsamoro bill, which was submitted by President Benigno Aquino III to Congress on Wednesday, will formalize the creation of the political entity that will replace the ARMM.

 

While the actor urged lawmakers to pass the Bangsamoro bill at the soonest possible time, he said Congress should likewise ensure the peace agreement that gave life to the measure would last.

 

“Makikiusap po tayo sa mga mambabatas na sana ay huling agreement na natin ito (Bangsamoro) kasi nakakapagod na rin po. Nanggaling na tayo sa Tripoli at Jakarta agreement[s], kaya sana ay huli na ito,” Padilla said.

 

The government previously entered into the 1976 Tripoli Agreement and the 1996 Jakarta Final Peace Agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) prior to signing the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) early this year.

 

The CAB was the basis for the Bangsamoro bill.

 

Aside from traveling to ARMM, Padilla said he was willing to hold talks with Muslim lawmakers to drum up support for the proposed BBL and attend hearings in Congress.

 

Turabin-Hataman, the wife of ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman, said she and Padilla were holding discussions to determine how the actor could help in Anak Mindanao's advocacy for peace. —NB, GMA News