Rep. Hataman to solonsand Heed call of Bangsamoro people, vote for BBL in plenary

MANILA – Several members of the House of Representatives from Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, and party-list groups are urging their colleagues to heed calls for peace and development in the Bangsamoro, and vote for the amended Basic Law of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region which is set for plenary deliberations on June 1. We seek the affirmative votes of our fellow members of the House of Representatives when the Bangsamoro bill is submitted to a vote. This is a historic opportunity to approve a law that would have a most meaningful impact on the peace and order situation in Mindanao, and thus boost the country’s security, and usher in an era of peace that could trigger economic progress to finally happen and improve the lives of poor Mindanaoans, especially in the Bangsamoro,” Rep. Djalia Turabin-Hataman of the Anak Mindanao party-list said, noting that it is the role of legislators to serve as champions of the people, e pecially those who have been put in the margins of society for so long. The approval of the draft by the House Ad Hoc Committee (on the BBL) is a positive development already,” Hataman said. We are hoping for even more positive developments once this bill reaches the plenary.” We in the Ad Hoc Committee have responded to the call of the Bangsamoro people, true to our calling as representatives of the Filipino people,” Batanes Rep. Henedina Abad said. I hope our fellow representatives similarly listen and respond to this call as the bill reaches the floor for plenary debates.” The welfare of the Bangsamoro is a concern not only of legislators from Mindanao,” Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone said. We all want peace and development for our Muslim brothers and sisters in Mindanao. I’m sure our fellow representatives in Congress recognize that and will vote for peace and development.”Pro-peace legislators called on their colleagues in their quest to empower the people with laws that will bring a better quality of life and bring the peace that the people of the Bangsamoro have been clamoring for.Hataman expressed hope that any changes to be introduced by the plenary will improve the draft and strengthen the envisioned Bangsamoro region. If the plenary wants to introduce further amendments, I hope these will all be to improve the current draft we approved at the committee,” Hataman said.The Ad Hoc Committee voted 50-17 with one abstention to approve the Bangsamoro bill after three days of voting on each section of the 109-page document last May 18-20. The proposed law was likewise approved by the House Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Ways and Means which endorsed it to the plenary. Leaders of Congress have committed to finish deliberations on the proposed law before the two chambers adjourn on June 11.