Aquino to submit proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law to Congress after SONA, says Palace

President Benigno Aquino III at the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro. Malacanang Photo Bureau

MANILA — Malacanang said on Monday that President Benigno S. Aquino III will submit the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law to Congress for ratification after he delivers his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 28.

In a press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda expressed confidence that Congress will enact the bill into law.

“We have always stated that the President will submit the Bangsamoro Basic bill after the SONA.

The President will certify it as urgent and we are confident that the Bangsamoro Basic Bill, while it will go through the legislative process, will become a law,” said Lacierda.

The Office of the President received the draft of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) from the Bangsamoro Transition Committee last May, and the President’s legal team and the Office of the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel have been studying it since.

Lacierda reiterated that the draft of the Bangsamoro Basic Law was made within the framework of the Constitution and is thus constitutional.

“We believe that what will be filed in Congress will be constitutional,” Lacierda noted.