BBL remains a top priority of Senate, says Drilon

THE proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) remains on top of the Senate’s priority bills in the coming third regular session of the 16th Congress.

Senate President Franklin Drilon said the committee report on the proposed BBL will be submitted to the plenary during the opening of the third and last regular session on Monday during President Aquino’s final State of the Nation Address (Sona).

“After that, we will debate. The bill (BBL) is our top priority,” Drilon said.

The BBL deliberations in both chambers of Congress hit a snag after 44 elite members of the National Police were killed in an encounter with combined forces of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and private armed groups in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on Jan. 25, this year.

The PNP’s Special Action Force (SAF) was on a mission to arrest international terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir and his Filipino companion Basit Usman when the Mamasapano encounter took place, also killing at least 17 MILF fighters and five civilians.

The Mamasapano incident forced the Senate to reset its deadline for the BBL passage from March to June this year to give way to the Senate inquiries into the gruesome killing of the SAF 44.

However, even with the extended deadline, the Senate was not enough to pass the BBL, setting a new target for its passage before the filing of certificate of candidacy in October this year.

The Senate Committee on Local Government chaired by Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has conducted 14 public hearings and consultations, including five held in Mindanao.

The BBL is a codification of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) signed in Malacanang in March 2014. (pna)