Government
chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer reiterated both peace panels of the
Government of the Philippines (GRP) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)
had committed Aug. 18 to be their deadline to finalize the much delayed and
diluted Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) as there remained nothing to submit to
President Aquino.
“The only way to go is forward. So when we set a time frame, it means that we will try our best to be able to finish,” Coronel-Ferrer said.
Both parties are confident that they can complete the draft bill a week from now.
“The panels reiterated their commitment to finish an agreed draft Bangsamoro
Basic Law by Aug. 18, 2014, in sha Allah, in order to allow the Office of the
President to submit the same to Congress as soon as possible,"
Coronel-Ferrer said.
Coronel-Ferrer said that they “reached an agreement on substantial portions of the document, and have developed a shared understanding of the remaining challenges and unsettled issues, which they will bring back to their principals for further guidance.”
The chief negotiator said that aside from consulting their principals, other mechanisms will also be used by the parties to fast-track the completion of the BBL.
“We have several mechanisms that we can utilize to be able to solve the remaining portions for common languages,” she said.
In their joint statement, the parties claimed that they invited experts and organizations to help them hammer out the remaining issues in the draft BBL.
“Discussions took place in plenary as well as in small groups focused on addressing specific issues such as fiscal autonomy and administration of justice,” Coronel-Ferrer said.
She added the Aug. 18 deadline “expresses our common sense of urgency to finish the mutually acceptable draft.”
Coronel-Ferrer said there are "a few remaining items" that need to be settled.
http://www.tribune.net.ph/nation/gov-t-milf-panels-reach-substantial-dev-t-on-bbl
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