BBL remains top priority of the Senate in 16th Congress’ final regular session

MANILA (PNA) – The Malacanang-backed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) remains on top of the Senate’s priority bills in the coming third regular session of the 16th Congress.Senate President Franklin Drilon has said the committee report on the proposed BBL will be submitted to the plenary during the opening of the third and last regular session on July 27.”After that, we will debate. The bill (BBL) is our top priority,” Drilon said.The BBL deliberations in both chambers of Congress hit a snag after 44 elite members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) were killed in an encounter with combined forces of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) and private armed groups in Mamasapano, Maguindanao on Jan. 25, this year.The PNP’s Special Action Force (SAF) was on a mission to arrest international terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, and his Filipino companion Basit Usman when the Mamasapano encounter took place, also killing at least 17 MILF fighters and five civilians.The Mamasapano incident forced the Senate to reset its deadline for the BBL passage from March to June this year to give way to the Senate inquiries into the gruesome killing of the SAF 44.However, even with the extended deadline, the Senate was not enough to pass the BBL, setting a new target for its passage before the filing of certificate of candidacy in October this year.The Senate Committee on Local Government chaired by Senator Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has conducted 14 public hearings and consultations, including five held in Mindanao.The BBL is a codification of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) signed in Malacanang in March 2014.Though it failed to pass the BBL before the July 27, 2015 SONA of President Aquino, the Senate has passed other important pieces of legislation listed as priority measures by the Aquino administration in the last five years.