President Aquino expressed high hopes that the Bangsamoro
Basic Law (BBL) will be passed into law within or even after his administration
which will pave the way for attaining a lasting peace in Mindanao .
In an interview Friday with the Philippine press here, the
President was asked about his views on the delays being encountered by the BBL
in Congress especially now that the country gears towards election next year.
The lack of quorum is still a problem in Congress.
The President said he doesn't think that there is a
deliberate attempt to destroy the chances of the BBL being passed in the
legislature although he said there are some who are trying to derail it.
"At the end of the day, next year we face elections,"
he said in the interview.
"Even at the point that we were negotiating, I did say
that the earlier we craft this proposed measure, and farther away from both the
budget and next year’s elections, the better the chances of passing it in a
timely manner and enabling the transition authority to demonstrate the
difference of their governance."
Despite the snag in Congress, he expressed confidence that
there is still a very strong push that can be made but passing the BBL should
happen sooner rather than later.
"I think the movement towards having the BBL in its
present form or with a little modification is really just a question of time.
It will happen," he said.
"Pero ulitin ko nga, hindi naman personal kong
monumento ito... at sigurado akong mangyayari ito. Kailan mangyayari? Sana sa
panahon ko, pero kung hindi, palagay ko inevitable na magkakaroon tayo ng
ganyang batas."
The Mindanao peace process
was also a major topic during his meeting with Italian President Sergio
Mattarella and Prime Minister Matteo Renzi last Wednesday.
He briefed the Italian leaders on his administration's
thrust towards economic inclusivity to discourage rebellion and extremism in
the south.
The Philippines
doesn't have the problem of radicalization that exists in other parts of the
world although it has concerns on the bandit group Abu Sayyaf in Mindanao .
According to the President, he also emphasized the ongoing
confidence-building partnership between the government and the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF) aimed at seeking a real solution to the Muslim
separatism.
Both the Italian President and the Prime Minister expressed
their support for the Philippines
The EU has been supporting the International Monitoring Team
and is also a participant in the Mindanao Trust Fund.
The Italian government in particular is assisting the Philippines
There are about 53,000 beneficiary families in the provinces
of Sarangani and Sultan Kudarat in Region 12 and Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao
in ARMM under the program, the President said.
To date, the initiative has irrigated 1,500 hectares of
lands, installed 80 potable water systems, and built 10 units of warehouse and
54,000 square meters multipurpose drying pavements.
Also, 35,000 hectares of farms were cultivated through crop
diversification, and capacitated 25 local government units (LGUs) in planning
and implementation.
The Italian development program also trained 87 farmer
organizations on agri-enterprise development, he noted.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=834883
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