Duterte to sign BBL before delivering SONA

President Duterte may sign the Bangsamoro organic law before he delivers his third State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, Malacañang said yesterday.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque thanked the members of Congress for reconciling their versions of the bill, one of the priority measures of the Duterte administration.

The bicameral conference committee approved the proposed Bangsamoro organic law on Wednesday night, a year after the Bangsamoro Transition Council submitted its draft to the President.

“We thank our lawmakers and the members of the Bangsamoro Transition Council because the bicameral conference for the BBL or the Bangsamoro Basic Law is finished. The President can now sign the BBL before his SONA on Monday,” Roque said.

He could not say when exactly Duterte would sign the measure into law, but expressed belief that the President may do so on Monday.

“As soon as we receive the consolidated version of the proposed Republic Act, the President can sign,” Roque said. “It’s possible that it will be on Monday...I think that’s the target anyway.”

Under the Constitution, the President has 30 days to sign a measure into law or veto it. If he does not act within 30 days, the bill will lapse into law.

The House of Representatives and the Senate have to ratify the bill separately before it can be transmitted to the President for his signature.

Roque said the ratification would be done when the two chambers meet on Monday morning to open the third regular session of the 17th Congress.

He said Duterte may discuss the Bangsamoro organic law during his third SONA.

Under the proposed law, a 75-25 wealth sharing term in favor of the Bangsamoro region will be implemented to increase the region’s share in government tax revenues.

Lawmakers also adopted a provision on automatic allocation of the annual block grant for the region. The grant is equivalent to five percent of the net national internal revenue of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and Customs.

The national government will allot P5 billion to the Bangsamoro annually for 10 years or P50 billion to rehabilitate areas affected by conflict.

The law also allows the Bangsamoro to implement Shari’ah or Islamic law exclusively to cases involving Muslims while adhering to the Constitution.

Tribal laws will apply to disputes involving indigenous peoples within the region.

Duterte previously said failure to pass the BBL would worsen the conflict in Mindanao and provide terrorist groups opportunity to recruit members.

Don’t judge yet

Senate President Vicente Sotto III advised critics of the BBL to give the measure at least two years to deliver on its promises before passing judgment on the measure.

Sotto said the proposed BBL could be repealed by Congress if the same problems such as secession and hostilities arise during the first two years of implementation of the new organic act of Mindanao.

He said the BBL could serve as an experiment for federalism since the law contains elements similar to what is being proposed by the proponents of a federal form of government.

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