House approves BBL on 3rd and final reading
THE HOUSE of Representatives on Wednesday passed on third and final reading the substitute bill for House Bill 6475, the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).
The counterpart version in the Senate remained pending on second reading as of this reporting Wednesday evening.
With 227 affirmatives, 11 votes against and two abstentions, the BBL was finally approved in the chamber, the same day it was passed on second reading. This was made possible after it was certified as urgent by President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
The BBL, principally authored by Speaker Pantaleon D. Alvarez, will create an autonomous region, replacing the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
The House conducted meetings with the Bangsamoro Transition Commission and the government and held a total of three all-party caucuses over the three-week resumption to discuss amendments and objections to the bill.
The substitute bill, according to Rep. Celso L. Lobregat, “substantially” addressed contentious issues.
“After we talked to the leadership, after we talked to other congressmen, there have been amendments better in the substitute bill,” Mr. Lobregat told reporters before the plenary session.
He said among the major concerns settled was an opt-in provision, after they agreed to hold just one plebiscite.
“There is no provision on the periodic plebiscite,” Mr. Lobregat said, thereby, eliminating Bangsamoro region’s “creeping expansion.”
The bill initially proposed to hold plebiscites every five years for a period of 25 years, allowing cities, municipalities, and other geographic areas to join the Bangsamoro.
Among those who voted against the bill are Representatives Isagani S. Amatong, Arlene D. Brosas, Ariel B. Casilao, France L. Castro, Manuel Jose M. Dalipe, Emmi A. de Jesus, Sarah Jane I. Elago, Edcel C. Lagman, Maximo B. Rodriguez, Jr., Antonio L. Tinio and Carlos Isagani T. Zarate. Those who abstained are Representatives Abdullah D. Dimaporo and Lobregat.
Mr. Alvarez, meanwhile, said, “as a lawyer, (I) share (the) doubt,” on the constitutionality of the bill, considering that ARMM is enshrined in the Constitution. But as a legislator, he said he believes the BBL is constitutional, unless, the Supreme Court decides otherwise.
“Now, anybody can question, ‘ yung constitutionality nung gagawin namin ( the constitutionality of what we’re crafting). Again, Supreme Court pa rin ang mag-de- decide kung inconsistent with the Constitution yun ang pagpalit nung ARMM law (Again, it is the Supreme Court that will decided whether replacing the ARMM is consistent with the constitution),” he explained.
Meanwhile, senators were introducing amendments to the bill, especially on the proposed region’s fiscal autonomy. Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel F. Zubiri, the bill’s sponsor, maintained as of this writing that the Senate aims to pass the proposed measure on its last day of session on Wednesday.
“I think the BBL will be a better document coming out of the Plenary than when it first landed in the Senate.... Coming from all failed attempts of past administrations to build lasting peace in Mindanao, I am very hopeful we can have a BBL that satisfies the concerns (of) Muslim Mindanao and most of all our Constitution,” he said in a statement.