MANILA, July 27 (PNA) — President Benigno S. Aquino III is set to certify the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) as urgent bill, a Palace official said on Sunday.
“Ipinahayag ni Pangulong (Benigno) Aquino (III) na prayoridad ng pamahalaan na ganap na maisabatas ang BBL at maitatag ang Bangsamoro Transition Authority sa susunod na taon,” said Presidential Communication Operations Office Secretary Hermino Coloma, Jr., in a press briefing over radio station dzRB Radyo ng Bayan.
President Benigno Aquino III has previously said that the BBL will be submitted to Congress to be enacted into law after he delivers his State of the Nation Address on July 28.
Coloma added that Bangsamoro Transtition Council (BTC) held a meeting last week to finalize the BBL before it is submitted to Congress for ratification.
Present during the meeting were the members of the Philippine panel headed by Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, Senen Bacani, Secretary Yasmin Busran-Lao of National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, and Secretary Teresita Quintos-Deles, the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, Coloma recounted.
The Communication Secretary said the President reminded both the Philippine Panel and the representative of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to work together and within the framework of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).
“Ayon sa Pangulo, ‘let’s approach this drafting of the proposed BBL with an open mind…everything is consistent with the CAB, and limit the potential challenges.’ Dagdag pa niya, ‘let us put ourselves in each other’s shoes. Mula sa ‘kayo’ at ‘kami’, ibalik natin sa ‘tayo’,” said Coloma quoting the President.
On March 27, the CAB was signed in Malacanang, this ended the decades-long conflict that has claimed the lives of hundreds of people in Mindanao. (PNA)