Territorial, judicial provisions left for discussion on BBL

MANILA — Two major topics are left for discussion as the Bicameral Conference Committee is completing its deliberations on contentious provisions of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law.

The bicameral conference that would reconcile the versions of the Senate and the House Representatives on the BBL is set to last until Friday.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said the bicam would try to finish the deliberations before President Rodrigo Duterte's State of the Nation Address on July 23.

"There are two major topics left for discussion: the territory and the Shariah law or judicial system," Drilon told reporters at the sidelines of the bicam hearing.

Drilon said he would head the Senate contingent to discuss the Shariah law with their counterparts from the House of Representatives.

The Shariah or Muslim Law refers to all ordinances and regulations governing Muslims as found in the Qur'an and the Hadith, according to Presidential Decree 1083.

The senator noted that he does not see any difficulty in discussing the Shariah law but the territorial provisions would be "very sensitive."

"Principally, these are the inclusion of six municipalities in Lanao del Norte and the 39 barangays. You see, the arguments are even if this is not contiguous, these are geographical areas under those who would propose for the inclusion of these municipalities," Drilon said.

Another issue would be determining the basis of the plebiscite, whether a majority in the province or majority in municipalities.

"If three of the five provinces would concur, then you have already a whole autonomous in Muslim Mindanao," the senator said.

The provisions on territorial limits would, later on, be brought to the Supreme Court but the bicam would decide on it first before forwarding it to the high tribunal.

Asked whether it was safe to say that the deliberations on the BBL would be finished by Duterte's SONA, Drilon admitted that he does not know what would happen in the next days.

"Again I would request to both panel to hand over the clean copy and review and review and review until we are satisfied that we have done our work. I don't want to be rushed," he said.