Presidential candidate Sen. Miriam Santiago (right) and vice-presidential candidate Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (left), the son of late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, gesture to supporters during a campaign rally in Batac, Ilocos Norte, Tuesday, at the start of the campaign for the May 10 national elections.(MNS photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) — Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. on Thursday denied that he supposedly connived with Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile to “kill” the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).
Marcos explained that the Senate could not yet vote on the BBL until the House of Representatives has finished tackling the proposed law.
Marcos made the statement after anchor Mike Enriquez cited a “24 Oras” news report where President Benigno Simeon Aquino III blamed two senators for the death of the proposed measure seeking to create a new Bangsamoro entity in Mindanao.
“Ang masaklap po, dito, tila may dalawang senador na nagkuntsabahan. Pagkatagal-tagal pong inilabas ang report ng komite. Kahit nga po sa mga huling araw ng session, ay ‘di pa tapos mag-interpellate,” the President was quoted during a campaign sortie of the Liberal Party in Iloilo City on Tuesday.
Aquino, however, did not name the two senators . Marcos chairs the Senate committee on local governments which conducted hearings on the BBL while Enrile was the last to interpellate the bill’s sponsor (Marcos).
Marcos said, “Siguro dapat ipaliwanag kay Pangulo na ang BBL… ay batas of local application.”
“Ang rules namin, kapag law of local application kailangan antayin namin matapos sa House of Representatives bago namin pwede itong botohan sa Senado,” Marcos said.
He explained that the Senate, through its Committee on Local Governments which he heads, has already begun hearings on the BBL.
While hearings can already be conducted, Marcos said the actual voting on the law can only happen once the House transmits its version of BBL to the Senate.
When Enriquez cited claims that the failure to pass BBL would lead to more conflicts in Mindanao, Marcos said that he felt this would not happen.
Marcos said leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), especially MILF chairperson Murad “Al Haj” Ebrahim and MILF chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal, have expressed their commitment to the peace process.
Marcos said he favors the passage of the BBL but the previous version submitted to the Senate reportedly had some “unconstitutional provisions.”
He said a successful BBL can only be established if the government would also reach out not only to the MILF but also to other groups in Mindanao such as the Moro National Liberation front, royal houses, sultans, and lumads.
The draft BBL or House Bill 4994 aims to abolish the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and create a new political identity that would build upon the reforms introduced by the ARMM government.
The House measure also seeks to affirm the “distinct historical identity and birthright of the Bangsamoro people to their ancestral homeland and their right to self-determination.”
The proposed House bill also noted that signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) on March 27, 2014 was considered as a signal of the end of decades-long conflict in Mindanao. (MNS)