Good as dead

With the campaign period for the 2016 elections just around the corner, the possibility that the Bangsamoro Basic Law could be passed by both chambers of Congress has grown dimmer with every passing day. 

In the Senate, the chairman of the Local Governments Committee claims that the BBL was as good as dead.

In the House of Representatives, the chairman of the ad hoc committee on the BBL is still optimistic that lawmakers would approve his substitute bill when Congress resumes session on Nov. 3. He said his new bill is scheduled for House deliberation from Nov. 3 to Dec. 16.

 “Let us just hope that we will be able to get the needed quorum during the Nov. 3 to Dec. 16 deliberations, otherwise the BBL is dead,” he said.

Lawmakers have little time for the BBL because Congress will adjourn on Oct. 9 and will tackle the 2016 budget when the two chambers resume session after the holidays for the dead.

Both the House and the Senate are still in the period of interpellations on the provisions of the BBL and they are not yet in the period of amendments.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), for its part, lamented that the passage of the BBL is hampered by the lack of quorum in the House and the diluted version of the measure in the Senate. The group said President Aquino’s commitment is the only thing that “keeps the ember of hope still alive” for the BBL.

The MILF’s rival faction Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) is not happy either with the substitute bill. 

Image by philstar.com