Chief Peace Adviser Teresita Deles says the proposed Bangsamoro law will be in Congress before President Benigno Aquino III embarks on his Europe trip
After failing to meet the target deadline, Malacañang and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) hope to submit the proposed law creating a new autonomous government in Mindanao to Congress before President Benigno Aquino leaves for
Chief
Presidential Peace Adviser Teresita Deles said in a statement that the draft is
now in its final stages.
"The
presidential review of the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) was completed
almost two weeks ago. On the basis of the President's comments, there were
further discussion and exchange of notes between MILF and the Office of the
President, the results of which were also submitted to the President. The draft
BBL is now undergoing final stages of refinement," Deles said.
She added:
"By the estimate of MILF panel and Bangsamoro Transition Commission chair
Mohagher Iqbal, the draft bill is now '99.99% done. It is expected to be
submitted to Congress before the President leaves for Europe
next week."
Mindanews earlier
quoted Iqbal as saying that the final text of the proposed law that will create
the Bangsamoro government to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao
is already "99.99% done."
Iqbal, however,
declined to identify what the remaining issue was. He also declined to give a
target deadline.
The creation and
approval of the Bangsamoro Basic Law is the next step in the peace process in Mindanao after the government and the MILF signed a final
peace accord in March aimed at ending 4 decades of war that has claimed the
lives of over 120,000 people.
The envisioned
Bangsamoro government will be ministerial in form, with elected members
electing a chief minister among themselves. It will enjoy a block grant or
automatic appropriations instead of having to get the approval of Congress for
its budget.
The composition
of this ministerial form of government, and how the block grant will be
calculated, have been some of the most contentious issues of the discussions.
Under the Comprehensive Agreement on the
Bangsamoro, the MILF agreed to decommission a specific number of
firearms and troops in certain phases in exchange for political commitments,
including the passage of the basic law.
The basic law
will go through two rounds of voting before being enacted in law – in Congress
and in a plebiscite. Its contents are under embargo until the bill has been
filed in Congress.
The government
wants the Bangsamoro political entity, which will enjoy greater political and
fiscal autonomy than the ARMM, to be established before Aquino steps down from
office in 2016.
http://www.rappler.com/nation/special-coverage/peacetalks/67975-bangsamoro-bill-deadline-congress
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