President Benigno Aquino III presents a scale model of the Kentex Manufacturing Corporation factory during a press briefing held at the Kalayaan Hall of the Malacanang Palace on Monday (June 1). Also present during the press briefing on Monday (June 1) at Malacanang are Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, Labor Secretary Rosalina Baldoz, Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman, and Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr. (MNS photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) – Despite an admission from lawmakers that passing the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) will be an uphill battle in Congress, President Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday expressed his determination to have his allies in the majority pass the controversial legislation.
In a speech during his state visit to Japan, Aquino maintained that the BBL will lead to stability in Mindanao.
“We are determined to get the BBL passed in Congress, which will be a major step in freeing thousands of our countrymen from the shackles of conflict and attaining lasting peace and prosperity in the autonomous region,” Aquino said at the Nikkei International Conference in Tokyo.
On Monday, House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II expressed concern about the prospects of the BBL’s passage in the chamber, saying the number of lawmakers supporting the controversial bill remained uncertain. The draft BBL is already being tackled in the House plenary.
At the Senate, Senate President Franklin Drilon already pushed back the deadline of the BBL’s passage to October. The bill remains pending in the Senate Committee on Local Government.
In the same speech, Aquino thanked the Japanese government for agreeing to provide the venue of talks between him and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim during the early stages of the peace process.
“My very first meeting with the leader of MILF happened because Japan opened doors to us on very, very short notice. They provided an environment where both sides will see the sincerity of their dialogue partners. This was a breakthrough in the peace process which we thought reached [a] deadlock,” Aquino said.
The BBL embodies the government’s peace deal with the MILF. It seeks to create a new Bangsamoro political entity that will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
The proposed legislation faced skepticism from the public and from lawmakers after the Jan. 25 encounter involving police commandos, the MILF and other armed groups in Mamasapano, Maguindanao, which over 60 people dead. (MNS)