House to pass Bangsamoro Law next year

(Malacanang stock photo)

MANILA – The House of Representatives is eyeing for the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in March next year, as it makes consensus on the final provisions of the bill.

The House is nearly finished on removing provisions that contradicts the Constitution.

Among the final revisions include an “opt-in” clause for inclusion of adjacent barangay (villages) and municipalities in the territory and its coverage by the Commission on Audit and the Civil Service Code, according to Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, chair of the 75-member ad hoc committee on the BBL.

The lawmaker made the statement during an interview over dzBB radio.

Rodriguez also said that a total of 30 public hearings were held by the House Committee.

Some 20 of the said public hearings were conducted in Mindanao, while the 31st and the 32nd hearings in Cebu and Iloilo, respectively are set this week.

Meanwhile, the hearings for all the governors and mayors of local government units in Bangsamoro territory as well as in adjacent provinces and cities in the Batasang Pambansa will resume on Jan. 16.

Meanwhile, another hearing for the leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, Moro National Liberation Front and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters had been scheduled the next day, according to Rodriguez.

“Some of them may not be able to come because they have warrants of arrest.

We are requesting that their representatives come to read their (position) papers,” he said.

“We will have about three weeks of plenary debates. We hope to finish this by March 30,” he added.