President Aquino personally submitted the draft of the Bangsamoro Basic Law to the leaders of the Congress, the first time this was done by a President of the Republic of the Philippines. Congress leaders promised that they will prioritize the passage of the bill.
President Benigno Aquino III finally turned over to Congress the much-awaited final draft of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) on Wednesday.
Aquino personally endorsed the draft BBL bill to Senate President Franklin Drilon and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., in a ceremony held Wednesday morning in Malacanang attended by around 200 guests.
The draft BBL was submitted after several months of delay. It was scheduled to be submitted to Congress last May, but it was delayed because of differences from the government peace panel and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
But President Aquino was optimistic about the creation of the Bangsamoro within his term.
He admitted the transmission of the draft took longer than expected. But he said the “long and thorough process” was to ensure “every detail involved in fulfilling our shared desires for the Bangsamoro region.”
“Mahaba at mabusisi po ang prosesong ito dahil nga inilatag natin ang bawat detalye ng pagpapatupad ng ating adhikain para sa Bangsamoro,” Aquino said in his speech.
Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma Jr. said Aquino and MILF Chair Al Haj Murad met last week to clarify and resolve the issues in the draft BBL,.
“The meeting between the President and Chairman Murad resulted in the clarification and resolution of issues pertaining to the details of the implementation of the peace agreement that are embodied in the draft law,” Coloma said during Tuesday’s press briefing.
He said both leaders deemed it urgent and important that this draft Bangsamoro law be completed.
“That is why they took the opportunity to meet face-to-face, together with the other significant participants in this process from the Philippine and the MILF panels,” he said, noting that the draft law faithfully represents the agreement between the Philippine government and the MILF.
Once it is passed by Congress, the President said he would aggressively push for the conduct of a fair and democratic poll in the region for the election of its leaders in 2016.
