Duterte to seek special session on draft BBL

PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte on Monday, Nov. 27, said he will ask Congress to hold a special session on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

“I will work very hard for it, I will ask Congress for a special session just to hear you talk about it. Sabi ko ito sagrado ito, importante to. Mahalaga ito ( I said this is sacred, this is important.),” Mr. Duterte said, addressing the first Bangsamoro Assembly held in Sultan Kudarat on Monday by the country’s main Muslim guerrilla group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front ( MILF).

The group staged a huge rally Monday at its southern headquarters that attracted Christians and rival rebels, in a joint effort with the government to reignite a stalled peace process.

“I will ask Congress, I said, one day, one session. Nur Misuari would be there to present their platform, then we’ll work ( this) out. If it’s not in consonance with each other, then we work out but at least the Filipino people should be given a day what we intend to do,” he added.

Mr. Duterte also reiterated his promise to have the BBL passed. “Ang akin, it must be inclusive,

lahat. Walang maiiwan dito sa peace talks na ito, MILF, MNLF, lahat na, Lumad, kailangan kasali,” he said.

( It must be inclusive, all. No one should be left behind in these peace talks. MILF, MNLF [Moro National Liberation Front], all, even Lumad, they need to be included.)

Mr. Duterte did not give further details on his proposed special session, but said, “Me? I support you. Do not ever, ever, question me. Delay? Of course it entails delay. It takes forever to move. Somebody has to push it. Because there are thousands of concerns.”

Under Article VI, Section 15 of the 1987 Constitution, “The President may call a special session at any time.”

The MILF signed a peace deal in 2014 that would give the nation’s Muslim minority self- rule over parts of the southern region of Mindanao, but a proposed law to implement the pact has not been able to get through Congress.

The immediate objective of Monday’s rally was to build support for the proposed law.

No firm crowd numbers were immediately available as of Monday morning but an AFP journalist at Camp Darapanan reported seeing tens of thousands of people.

Among those in attendance were Cardinal Orlando Quevedo, the archbishop of Cotabato and the highest Catholic Church official in Mindanao, as well as members of the MILF’s main rival, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

The BBL, currently pending in the House of Representatives, is aimed at establishing the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region which would replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The proposed law was drafted by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission and endorsed in the House last September by Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez and House Majority Leader Rodolfo C. Fariñas. —