By Vanne Elaine Terrazola
Senate Majority Floor Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri has admitted that there are certain impediments on the Congress’ discussion of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).
He said this as the Congress bicameral conference committee started deliberating on the conflicting provisions of the Senate and House versions of the proposed BBL Monday.
In an interview at the sidelines of the closed-door bicam meeting in a Pasig hotel, Zubiri, chair of the Senate panel, said they are setting aside controversial provisions in the meantime to be able to finish the priority measure within the week so that President Duterte can sign it into law on July 23.
As of Monday afternoon, the bicam has finished discussing three articles of the Senate Bill No. 1717 and House Bill No. 6475, according to Zubiri.
The senator said they are looking to finish the bicam meeting on Wednesday.
Controversial provision
Zubiri said they deferred discussion on the territories of the proposed Bangsamoro Autonomous Region as concerns were raised over the differing provisions of the two chamber’s bills.
The Senate majority leader said members of the House bicameral panel warned that the Upper Chamber’s proposal to include the 39 barangays (villages) of North Cotabato and six municipalities of Lanao del Norte in the proposed Bangsamoro territory would be “unconstitutional.”
SB 1717 added the North Cotabato villages and Lanao del Norte municipalities in the proposed Bangsamoro region without the permission, through a plebiscite, of their mother province. HB 6475 did not have such a provision.
The Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) which submitted the draft BBL is supposedly favoring the House’s provision over the Senate’s in the subject. Zubiri, however, said the Senate contingent can defend its constitutionality.
Aside from the core territories of the proposed Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, the two Congress houses would also have to debate on their differences in their proposed territorial waters.
Power-sharing
Zubiri said the Senate panel will stick to its guns on clearly defining the powers of the proposed Bangsamoro government.
“We should only be discussing powers granted to the Bangsamoro government. Because in the ARMM (Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao) law, Republic Act 9054, it is also very clear [the] powers of the ARMM government. The powers of the national government are not defined there,” Zubiri said.
The House of Representatives approved the BTC proposal defining the reserved powers of the national government, the exclusive powers of the Bangsamoro government, and the concurrent powers of the two governments. The Senate removed such provisions in their approved bill.
“Our lawyers in the [Senate] panel feel that we should not define clearly the powers of national government because there would be confusion. Does that mean that what is not there can be interpreted as allowed to be done by the ARMM government? That would be difficult. Under our Constitution, powers that are not defined there is reserved to central government,” Zubiri explained.
He added that defining powers of the government “would also pose a constitutional challenge.”
Zubiri, on the other hand, assured the BTC that it can propose additional powers for the Bangsamoro government especially if these were granted already by the RA 9054.
Tax-sharing, block grant
While lawmakers disagreed on certain provisions, Zubiri reported that they are united in maintaining the contents of the ARMM law.
Zubiri said they agreed in a caucus before the bicameral meeting that they will retain the provisions of the RA 9054 in the proposed BBL so that it would not be “diminished” from the current ARMM.
Particularly, they will restore the 75-25 percent sharing between the Bangsamoro government and central government on the taxes collected from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.
Senators approved a 50-50 sharing, while the House granted the BTC proposal of a 75-25 sharing.
“We should not diminish in any effect provisions of the ARMM law. These are already clearly indicated in the original ARMM law and we’re willing to restore in this version,” Zubiri said.
“We will accept the House version. The Senate panel will tend to accept the House version,” Zubiri said.
Apart from the wealth-sharing, Zubiri said the bicam has allowed the unconditional release of the block grant for the Bangsamoro region.
While the two houses agreed on a five-percent annual block grant, the Senate proposed a qualification on the block grant stating that when the national government incurs an unmanageable public sector deficit, the President of the Philippines is authorized, upon the recommendation of the Department of Finance and Department of Budget and Management, to adjust or suspend the block grant. The House version did not contain such a condition.
The BTC, Zubiri said, wanted to remove the conditions.
“We agreed that we should not impede the release of the block grant. Because there have been certain amendments that state that the block grant is subject to review and therefore before it is automatically appropriated it is reviewed. The problem there is, who reviews? If COA (Commission on Audit) reviews, we all know that COA takes several years before they actually come up with a finding. So, this wil actually impede the release of the block grant,” Zubiri said.
Zubiri assured to maintain the accountability and transparency measures in the proposed BBL.
Senate Majority Floor Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri has admitted that there are certain impediments on the Congress’ discussion of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).
He said this as the Congress bicameral conference committee started deliberating on the conflicting provisions of the Senate and House versions of the proposed BBL Monday.
In an interview at the sidelines of the closed-door bicam meeting in a Pasig hotel, Zubiri, chair of the Senate panel, said they are setting aside controversial provisions in the meantime to be able to finish the priority measure within the week so that President Duterte can sign it into law on July 23.
As of Monday afternoon, the bicam has finished discussing three articles of the Senate Bill No. 1717 and House Bill No. 6475, according to Zubiri.
The senator said they are looking to finish the bicam meeting on Wednesday.
Controversial provision
Zubiri said they deferred discussion on the territories of the proposed Bangsamoro Autonomous Region as concerns were raised over the differing provisions of the two chamber’s bills.
The Senate majority leader said members of the House bicameral panel warned that the Upper Chamber’s proposal to include the 39 barangays (villages) of North Cotabato and six municipalities of Lanao del Norte in the proposed Bangsamoro territory would be “unconstitutional.”
SB 1717 added the North Cotabato villages and Lanao del Norte municipalities in the proposed Bangsamoro region without the permission, through a plebiscite, of their mother province. HB 6475 did not have such a provision.
The Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) which submitted the draft BBL is supposedly favoring the House’s provision over the Senate’s in the subject. Zubiri, however, said the Senate contingent can defend its constitutionality.
Aside from the core territories of the proposed Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, the two Congress houses would also have to debate on their differences in their proposed territorial waters.
Power-sharing
Zubiri said the Senate panel will stick to its guns on clearly defining the powers of the proposed Bangsamoro government.
“We should only be discussing powers granted to the Bangsamoro government. Because in the ARMM (Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao) law, Republic Act 9054, it is also very clear [the] powers of the ARMM government. The powers of the national government are not defined there,” Zubiri said.
The House of Representatives approved the BTC proposal defining the reserved powers of the national government, the exclusive powers of the Bangsamoro government, and the concurrent powers of the two governments. The Senate removed such provisions in their approved bill.
“Our lawyers in the [Senate] panel feel that we should not define clearly the powers of national government because there would be confusion. Does that mean that what is not there can be interpreted as allowed to be done by the ARMM government? That would be difficult. Under our Constitution, powers that are not defined there is reserved to central government,” Zubiri explained.
He added that defining powers of the government “would also pose a constitutional challenge.”
Zubiri, on the other hand, assured the BTC that it can propose additional powers for the Bangsamoro government especially if these were granted already by the RA 9054.
Tax-sharing, block grant
While lawmakers disagreed on certain provisions, Zubiri reported that they are united in maintaining the contents of the ARMM law.
Zubiri said they agreed in a caucus before the bicameral meeting that they will retain the provisions of the RA 9054 in the proposed BBL so that it would not be “diminished” from the current ARMM.
Particularly, they will restore the 75-25 percent sharing between the Bangsamoro government and central government on the taxes collected from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.
Senators approved a 50-50 sharing, while the House granted the BTC proposal of a 75-25 sharing.
“We should not diminish in any effect provisions of the ARMM law. These are already clearly indicated in the original ARMM law and we’re willing to restore in this version,” Zubiri said.
“We will accept the House version. The Senate panel will tend to accept the House version,” Zubiri said.
Apart from the wealth-sharing, Zubiri said the bicam has allowed the unconditional release of the block grant for the Bangsamoro region.
While the two houses agreed on a five-percent annual block grant, the Senate proposed a qualification on the block grant stating that when the national government incurs an unmanageable public sector deficit, the President of the Philippines is authorized, upon the recommendation of the Department of Finance and Department of Budget and Management, to adjust or suspend the block grant. The House version did not contain such a condition.
The BTC, Zubiri said, wanted to remove the conditions.
“We agreed that we should not impede the release of the block grant. Because there have been certain amendments that state that the block grant is subject to review and therefore before it is automatically appropriated it is reviewed. The problem there is, who reviews? If COA (Commission on Audit) reviews, we all know that COA takes several years before they actually come up with a finding. So, this wil actually impede the release of the block grant,” Zubiri said.
Zubiri assured to maintain the accountability and transparency measures in the proposed BBL.
No comments:
Post a Comment