By Sammy F. Martin
MANILA, March 13 (PNA) — A resolution has been filed to extend the term of the Ad Hoc Committee on Bangsamoro after its expiration last March 9, House Labor Committee Chairman and Davao City Congressman Karlo Alexei Nograles said Friday.
Nograles said House Speaker Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte filed House Resolution 188 in a bid to extend the life of the ad hoc panel chaired by Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez until June 12.
“I support the Speaker’s decision to extend the life of the ad hoc panel because indeed, there are still so many things that we have to discuss in relation to the proposed BBL. The Constitutional nuances and the disagreements arising from the Mamasapano incident should really be threshed out,” Nograles said in a statement.
Under Belmonte’s HR 188, entitled “Resolution extending the period for the ad hoc committee on the Bangsamoro Basic Law to review and evaluate the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law and to submit its reports and recommendations to the House of Representatives,” the ad hoc panel is given another three months to complete and wrap up its deliberations on the BBL.
The two-page resolution, dated March 9, pointed out that the panel has yet to conclude the deliberations on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law, and it becomes imperative to extend until June 12, 2015 the period given to the Ad Hoc Committee to meet and submit its reports and recommendations to the House of Representatives.
According to Nograles, the Ad Hoc Committee on the BBL is calling for continuation of deliberations immediately after Easter Sunday.
He said the executive sessions by the Ad Hoc Committee at the House of Representatives will resume on April 6 and continue up to April 16 in which period it expects to complete its committee report on the BBL.
Originally, the Ad Hoc panel was given six months from its creation to review and fine tune the Palace-endorsed BBL but has failed to make its final recommendation following the gruesome death of 44 PNP-Special Action Force commandos that clash with armed elements in Mamasapano, Maguindanao that include members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
“We really need more time to study and review the BBL. I just hope that when we sit down again to deliberate on this matter, we would have calmer and more rationale discussions on the BBL. Admittedly, there a lot of emotions after the Mamasapano incident but this should not stop us looking deeper not only on the proposed BBL but also on how to finally bring peace in Mindanao,” Nograles said. (PNA)