The leadership of the House of Representatives said on Tuesday that it has yet to decide on the deadline for the passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law.
“I’m not yet sure if we can pass it before the break,” Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said in a text message to reporter Maricel Cruz, referring to the March 19 recess of Congress.
The senators earlier agreed to finish the committee hearings on the bill before the recess.
Congress will resume session on January 20 after a month-long holiday break.
The 75-man ad hoc committee chaired by Cagayan De Oro City Rep. Rufus is expected to resume hearings on the measure.
But the ad hoc panel has yet to wrap up deliberations on the measure after holding 30 hearings last year as it is still faced with the challenge to resolve the provisions which were found to be unconstitutional by several constitutionalists, legal experts and even the legal minds in government.
The “conflicting and execrable” provisions of the BBL include those on national defense and security, police, foreign relations, revenue or wealth sharing, justice system and the legislature.
Rodriguez had admitted that there was sufficient ground to question the legality of some provisions in the BBL, particularly the one allowing contiguous territories which are outside the core areas of the Bangsamoro to propose their inclusion in the region “at anytime” through a petition of at least 10 percent of the residents and approval by a majority of qualified voters in the city or province in a separate plebiscite.
Belmonte, meanwhile, said he is elated with the way the senators are acting fast on the BBL which proposes the creation of the Bangsamoro autonomous region that would replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
“I’m happy about the Senate’s stance,” Belmonte said.
Lawmakers from both sides of the political fence had urged their colleagues not to cave in to political pressure or threats of renewed hostilities in Mindanao because passing a half-baked and constitutionally-infirm Basic Bangsamoro Law would have dire consequences.
The lawmakers, led by Rep. Rodolfo Albano III of Isabela, appealed to his fellow legislators not to cave in to political pressure because passing a flawed BBL will have consequences that will lead to more serious problems.
But Rodriguez assured his colleagues that his panel, with all sectors of society concerned being invited to give inputs to the measure, would scrutinize the measure in the face of the many constitutional questions hounding it.
Rodriguez’s ad hoc panel targets the committee level passage of the proposed peace pact contained in House Bill 4994 in February so they can send it to the plenary for deliberations.
“We hope that by March 30 we will be finished at all,” Rodriguez said.
HB 4994 is entitled “An Act providing for the Basic Law for the Bangsamoro and abolishing the ARMM, repealing for the purpose Republic Act No. 9054, entitled ‘An Act to strengthen and expand the Organic Act for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and Republic Act No. 6743, entitled ‘An Act providing for the Organic Act for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao,’ and for other purposes.” (Details C/O Manila Standard Today, Maricel Cruz)