(Eagle News) — Members of the House of Representatives and of the Senate met in a bicameral conference committee meeting on Monday, July 9, to reconcile their versions of the Bangsamoro Basic Law.
Twenty-nine senators and congressmen trooped to a hotel in Ortigas to attend the five-day meeting aimed at ensuring the passage of the law President Rodrigo Duterte has said would bring lasting peace in Mindanao.
“Napag-agreehan naman na yung mga madaling provisions mapadaan na dun and then itable muna yung mga controversial..,” Senate President Tito Sotto said.
According to Sotto, he also advised the chair of the bicameral committee to tackle “possible constitutional issues.”
“So as far as the constitutional concerns, tingin ko mga dalawa o tatlong isyu lang ang matagalan pero di kaya ng isang araw,” Sotto said.
The two houses of Congress aim to approve the measure this week so it can be subjected to ratification in the plenary of both the House and the Senate on July 23.
This is so Duterte could sign the measure into law before his third State of the Nation Address. Meanne Corvera