President Aquino vows to keep PHL's stand on peace process in his US trip

From the Philippine News Agency (Feb 15): President Aquino vows to keep PHL's stand on peace process in his US trip

President Benigno S. Aquino III has vowed to further solidify the Philippines' stand for the peace process during his attendance in the two-day ASEAN-US Leaders' Summit in the United States this week.

The Summit, to be held in Sunnylands, California, aims to strengthen the cooperation among the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the US.

In his departure speech on Monday, the Chief Executive said that in his last attendance in the Summit as President, he will be sharing again his resolve for the peace process, which is the country's contribution on the issue of extremism and lack of stability.

"Naudlot man ang panukalang Bangsamoro Basic Law sa ating Kongreso, di nagbabago ang ating posisyon ukol sa BBL: Ito pa rin ang pinakatamang landas tungo sa kapayapaan at kaunlaran para sa Mindanao," he said.

Approval of the proposed BBL has faced difficulties in both houses of Congress. The Senate cannot move for its approval without the House of Representatives' prior thumbs up.

The 16th Congress has until June 30 to approve the measure but with sessions currently on recess and will resume only on May 23, some lawmakers have cast doubts on the BBL's success within the current administration.

Meanwhile, President Aquino is also scheduled to speak before the Los Angeles World Affairs Council (LAWAC), which he said is an honor since his father, former Senator Benigno S. Aquino Jr., also served as its speaker in 1981.

He is also set to meet with representatives of Disney, and with this the Chief Executive is very optimistic on its impact on the country's economy in the future.

"Ang mensahe nga natin sa lahat ng negosyanteng nakakausap natin: Sulit na sulit na ngayong tumaya sa Pilipino; sama-sama nating itulak pa ang malaking pagbabago sa ekonomiya at kalakhang bansa," he said.

The President is scheduled to return to the country on Friday.

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