No Senate assurance of BBL approval before recess

From ABS-CBN (Sep 28): No Senate assurance of BBL approval before recess

With only six session days left, Senate President Franklin Drilon has indicated that there is no assurance the proposed law creating the Bangsamoro autonomous region would be passed before Congress goes on a break.

The bill is currently in the period of interpellation and debate in the Senate, where it is among the priorities. The last Senate session day is on October 7.

“Nobody can assure anything,” Drilon told reporters when asked about the bill’s chances of getting approved before the congressional recess.

“You can watch me every day. I try my best. But I can only do so much.”

Drilon said the bill is number one in the Senate’s daily agenda, but that there’s no rule in the chamber that allows for cloture or closing debates for an immediate vote on a measure.

Eight senators have interpellated the bill’s sponsor, Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

One more senator, Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile, is scheduled for interpellation, according to the Office of the Majority Leader.

Once interpellations finish, the bill will be subject to the period of amendments before being passed on second and then third reading.

It takes three days after a bill’s approval on second reading before it can be passed on final reading, unless the President certifies it as urgent.

A product of peace negotiations between government and the rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the bill seeks to establish the Bangsamoro region to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

The Aquino administration wanted the measure, originally called the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), passed early this year to allow for a transition before the 2016 elections.

However, a bloody clash with rebels in January 25 that left 44 elite cops dead prompted several lawmakers to withdraw their support for the bill and stalled its progress.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/09/28/15/no-senate-assurance-bbl-approval-recess