This, despite the fact that Congress has yet to receive the draft of the proposed legislation, less than two weeks before it adjourns on June 13. Congress won’t resume its session until July 28 when President Benigno Aquino III delivers his state of the nation address.
Senators have indicated that the ‘real work’ begins when both houses of Congress starts scrutinizing the draft basic law.
“Kaya pa naman,” Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer told reporters at the sidelines of the House panel hearing on the addendum on the envisioned Bangsamoro waters.
Coronel-Ferrer defended Malacañang against criticism that it was taking too long to review the draft submitted by the Bangsamoro Transition Committee.
“The goal is to produce something that will be publicly discussed, so at the very least dapat kapag lumabas na yung bill in public, it has gone through a thorough review process already,” she said.
Review ongoing
In Malacañang, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said the draft of the BBL is still being studied by the Office of the President, almost five months after the government and the MILF signed the peace accord that became the basis for crafting the document.
The measure will formalize the creation of the Bangsamoro political entity that will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
House leaders have urged Malacañang to rush its submission of the document to Congress so lawmakers can work on passing it within the year, in accordance with the Palace’s timeline.
Malacañang has said it wants the BBL to be passed into law before 2014 ends so the plebiscite in the “envisioned core territory of the Bangsamoro” can be held by mid-2015 or earlier.
Challenging review
Coronel-Ferrer said the delay in the submission of the draft BBL “cannot be avoided” since President Benigno Aquino III and other Palace officials have to be thorough in checking if the document contains any problematic provisions.
“We have to make sure na hindi mahahanapan yung document ng something na magiging cause ng mas maraming problema later on,” she said.
According to Coronel-Ferrer, Malacañang is regularly coordinating with the peace panel and the transition committee in the review process.
She noted that reviewing the draft BBL has been a challenge for the lawyers involved since the document embodies all the provisions contained in the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) signed by the national government and the MILF.
“Kung dati patse-patse lang ‘yung napag-usapan during negotiations, the lawyers now have to look at the entire draft of the law. That’s why it has not been easy for them to sift through it, especially since they have to make sure there won’t be something in it that will cause us to encounter problems,” Coronel-Ferrer said.
When asked if the Palace and peace panel will agree to the revisions that might be made by Congress once the draft BBL has been submitted to lawmakers, she said they “cannot prevent it from happening.”
“It’s a power that belongs to Congress. The Executive branch will not try to take it away from the legislators,” she said.
South Cotabato Rep. Pedro Acharon Jr. said lawmakers will review the document carefully once it is submitted to the chamber to ensure it will be beneficial to all Filipinos.
“We want to make sure that all of its provisions will be equal for all. While we all want peace and prosperity, we also want these things to be enjoyed by everyone in this country,” he said. —KBK/NB, GMA News
