BBL fate depends on 98 lawmakers, mostly from M’nao

DAVAO City––The fate of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL)––whether it is one that adheres to the letter and spirit of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) or one that may render the future Bangsamoro less autonomous than the present Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm)––is in the hands of 98 representatives, majority of them from Mindanao’s 27 provinces and 33 cities.

All representatives from Mindanao’s 59 congressional districts are members of the 75-member Ad Hoc Committee on the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

The Committee’s 75 members plus 23 ex officio members were expected to vote in open session starting yesterday up to May 20.

Committee chair Cagayan de Oro 2nd District Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said the explanations would be done at the plenary which he expects to begin on May 25––“from 4 pm. to midnight or from morning” and last for about two weeks.

Rodriguez said they want to ensure the BBL is passed before Congress adjourns sine die on June 11.

The core territory of the proposed Bangsamoro is the present composition of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm): Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-tawi and the cities of Marawi, Lamitan, Cotabato, Isabela, six towns in Lanao del Norte, and 39 barangays in the North Cotabato towns of Kabacan, Carmen, Aleosan, Pigcawayan, Pikit and Midsayap.

It could also include all other contiguous areas where there is a resolution of the local government unit or a petition of at least 10% of the qualified voters in the area asking for their inclusion at least two months prior to the conduct of the ratification of the Bangsamoro Basic Law and the process of delimitation of the Bangsamoro.

Residents in the present Armm, Cotabato and Isabela cities, the six Lanao del Norte towns and 39 villages in six North Cotabato towns would vote in a plebiscite to ratify the BBL.

In addition to the 59 congressional district representatives, there are at least nine party-list representatives who are from Mindanao, eight of them members of the Committee: Luz Ilagan of Davao City of Gabriela Women’s Party, Edgardo Masongsong of 1st Consumers Alliance For Rural Energy Inc, Mariano Piamonte of Padada, Davao del Sur who represents A Teacher, Maximo Rodriguez Jr. of Cagayan de Oro who represents Abante Mindanao, Sitti Djalia Turabin-Hataman of Basilan who represents Anak Mindanao, Carlos Isagani Zarate of General Santos of Bayan Muna.

Three of the 23 ex officio members from Mindanao are Deputy Speaker for Mindanao Pangalian Balindong of Lanao del Sur, Carol Jayne Lopez of Yacap, and former Justice Secretary Silvestre Bello III of the party-list 1-BAP and Ahapo Party-List Coalition. –carolyn arguillas of mindanews