Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., after taking much time in scrutinizing the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), is now finally ready to submit his committee report on Monday (August 10).
Marcos said they have tried to address every shortcoming and lack of clarity in the draft BBL.
“It took longer than we had anticipated. I asked for a few days and I think today we will finish,” he said.
Related: Bangsamoro bill: Lawmakers aim for September deadline
Marcos also denied that there was a deliberate attempt to delay debates for the BBL.
“To what end? There’s no reason for us to delay but I am confident that when people will see the final version they will understand why we have been very careful.”
Marcos also explained why it took him so long to finally come up with a committee report. In his estimate, about 80 percent of the provisions “have some kind of amendment to it,” including minor and major revisions.
“There are provisions that we moved the comma. That is an amendment. There are provisions that we changed the entire paragraph,” he said.
According to the senator, one of the major changes include inclusiveness. In the original version of the BBL, the provision on inclusiveness talked solely about the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
In the substitute bill, the Senate Local Government committee also included the sultanates, indigenous people, as well as business groups, and local government units.
The unconstitutional infirmities were also taken out including the creation of Bangsamoro’s own Commission on Elections, Commission on Audit, Office of the Ombudsman, and Commission on Human Rights.
Marcos also emphasized that the police in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region will not be any different from the Philippine National Police (PNP).
Ready to defend the BBL
With such amendments in place, Marcos said he’s now ready to defend the revised version of the BBL once it hits the Floor for deliberations.
Marcos said, however, that even if the ball starts rolling, he cannot promise that the BBL will be approved before the campaign period starts.
“Hindi ko lang maitiyak yung schedule ko. Hindi ko masasabi kung gano katagal yung debate, hindi ko masasabi kung gano katagal yung bicam. Hindi natin masasabi kung ano ang mangyayari, yung mga challenges sa Supreme Court, how long that will take, kung mananalo, kung matatalo. Hindi natin masasabi.”
[Translation: I can’t assure you of my schedule. I can’t say how long the debates will last and how long the bicam will take. We can’t say what will happen considering that there might be challenges in the Supreme Court and how long that will take, if it will win or it will lose. We can’t really say.]
But for Marcos, one thing is for sure – BBL, in its original form, will not pass.
“Walang pag-asa ‘yun [It’s hopeless]. In the original form, the draft BBL will not pass the House, it will not pass the Senate”.
CNN Philippines’ Anna estanislao contributed to this report.
