BBL passage fails, Aquino administration blamed

President Benigno S. Aquino III delivers his departure statement during the send-off ceremony at the Departure Area of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal II in Pasay City on Sunday (November 29, 2015) to attend the 21st Conference of Parties (COP 21) for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in France; for the Official Visit to Italy; and the Formal Visit to the Holy See. (Photo by Benhur Arcayan / Malacañang Photo Bureau)

MANILA – The Aquino administration blames itself for the failure of Congress on passing the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) this year as the officials refused calls of the bill’s revision which crafted by the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panels.

House Minority Leader said that the administration and its allies failed to listen to them and the House had been vocal on the constitutionality and scope of BBL draft, and said the BBL failed the passage because the administration failed to accept it despite of the amendments introduced to them.

The House of Representatives didn’t passed the BBL despite of appeals by President Aquino, chief government peace negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer and MILF negotiator Mohagher Iqbal to approve the bill this year, as they adjourned the hearing on Wednesday.

Since Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. finally mustered a quorum on the last session of the Congress for 2015, he was confident enough that there would be enough time to pass the proposed BBL three sessions before the campaign period in February.

The minority bloc, according to Zamora, was the first to oppose the opt-in provision in the BBL draft which allows the remaining provinces that don’t in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to join the Bangsamoro region. The opt-in provision was in the committee report on BBL but was removed in the plenary.

Zamora added that the administration refused to listen to the plebicite criticisms on BBL that can lead into different pieces of jurisdiction and the “large and unrealistic” allocated budget for BBL.

“Let Congress call an all-party caucus, get everybody to speak their piece, not just through one special committee. Let’s do it in public with everybody participating. We were not being listened to,” said Zamora in a report on Inquirer.net.