Wednesday, July 18, 2018

Bicam completes review of 6 of 18 articles on BBL

By Vanne Elaine Terrazola

The Congress bicameral committee has finished polishing six of the 18 articles of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), missing anew its target for the approval of the priority measure.

House Majority Leader Roldolfo Fariñas confirmed Tuesday night that it is “impossible’ to finish deliberating on the measure, contrary to earlier pronouncements that the bicam will sign Tuesday afternoon its final committee report on the BBL.

Fariñas said they had so far completed six articles of the bill, which includes provisions on the identity, territory, powers and security measure of the Bangsamoro region.

As of 10 p.m. Tuesday, Fariñas said they will take up provisions on the fiscal autonomy of the proposed Bangsamoro region.

Fariñas said they will continue their meeting tomorrow noon at the Senate.

The House leader admitted there were still debates on some of the provisions of the bill, particularly on the proposed preamble in the proposed BBL.

The Bicam, he said, did not approve of the preamble proposed by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission. The Bangsamoro preamble should also adhere to the Constitution, he added.

Despite delays, Fariñas said they still aim to approve the final version of the bill this week so president Duterte can review it before they ratify it and later be signed it into law on Monday, July 23.

The bicam had had five meetings on the BBL, three in a hotel in Pasig, once in the House of Representatives, and the latest in a hotel in Mandaluyong City.

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