Peace Council recommends revisions on BBL
MANILA — Former Chief Justice Hilario Davide of the Peace Council on Tuesday submitted to Senate President Franklin Drilon and Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos a copy of its report on the Bangsamoro Basic Law.
In a simple ceremony at the office of Senator Drilon, Davide said that the council recommended provisions that do not go against the Constitution.
"We only recommended provisions not violative of the Constitution," Davide said in response to the inquiry from Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero regarding the changes that the Council proposed.
Still, Davide said, Congress, particularly the Senate, has the final say on what provisions to be retained or deleted since that is the power of the Legislative Branch.
"These are recommendations. The Senate has the final say on the proposed measure," Davide said.
Meanwhile, Marcos said that the report can help facilitate the deliberations on the proposed measure since legal luminaries made the study. He added that the questions on the legality of some provisions in the proposed law would now be clarified by the Council's recommendations.
He said the Peace Council has addressed some questions on the BBL on four subjects.
That, he added, is the logical way to divide up the questions.
Nonetheless, Marcos said that he couldn't give a definite timetable on the passage of the proposed measure since no one can predict how fast lawmakers would discuss the BBL.
"It's impossible to say how long that process will take. So we will just go through it, and we will go to it in detail. We will not leave any issue unexamined, and I'm sure at the end of it we will have a version that assures all stakeholders, and I suppose that includes the entire Philippines, that we have a workable version of the BBL," he added.
Davide said the Council favored the position taken by some lawmakers to move for refining and/or amending the provisions on the formation of constitutional bodies and the Bangsamoro Police, among others.
"There are some provisions in the BLL that needs refinements or amendments, such as the creation of the Bangsamoro police and Bangsamoro entity’s own Commissions on Audit, Civil Service and Elections, and the Sharia Court, are at odds with provisions of the Constitution," Davide told Marcos.
"The BBL introduces the creation of the following bodies: Bangsamoro Human Rights Commission, Bangsamoro Auditing Body, Bangsamoro Civil Service Office and Bangsamoro Election Office. The validity of this provision is being questioned on the main ground that the creation and power vested in them under BBL are unconstitutional, as they duly assume and expand the powers vested in the National Constitutional bodies," Davide said in the Council report as read before the panel.
Davide also rejected the provision in BBL that the decision of the Sharia court is to be final and executory, which powers may only be vested on the Supreme Court by the Constitution. (Interaksyon News Online)