MANILA – President Rodrigo Duterte plans to approve the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) before he delivers his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 23.
Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said the passage of the bill is doable before the SONA as the Senate and the House of Representatives have agreed to adopt the latter’s version of the bill.
“[I am ] pleased to announce that the President facilitated the passage of the BBL by convincing the two Houses of Congress to adopt the House version of the BBL,” Roque said. “With the President’s intervention, citing constitutional provisions and the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Umali, the passage of the BBL has been assured. PRRD will sign the BBL law before the SONA.”
Once it becomes a law, the BBL would serve as the enabling law of the 2014 peace deal between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
The Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro aims to grant greater autonomy to the Bangsamoro region.
The proposed BBL will establish a new autonomous political entity known as the Autonomous Region of the Bangsamoro and will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Duterte certified the BBL as urgent on May 29 and the following day, both the House and the Senate approved the proposed bill seeking to end decades-old conflict in Mindanao./PN
