Philippines: Senate, House OK Bangsamoro Law

• After more than a week of debates, the Senate and the House of Representatives finally came up on the night of 18 Jul 18 with a consolidated version of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) that lawmakers say will stand the test of constitutionality.
• The approval came a year after the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), which drafted the BBL, submitted the measure to President Duterte, the Senate and the House.
• The measure is now called the “Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao” – the name of the political entity that will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
• President Duterte is expected to sign the consolidated bill into law in the afternoon of 23 Jul 18 when he delivers his third State of the Nation Address (SONA).
• Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said the approval of the BBL showed there is no need to revise the Constitution to shift to a federal form of government to achieve autonomy or self-governance for local government units (LGUs).
• Drilon said the proposed BBL showed that empowering local governments can be done without having to amend the Constitution.
• Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said on 19 Jul 18 that most of the lawmakers in the upper house see no need to railroad the country’s shift to a federal form of government.
• Sotto stressed that the Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao would be a good “test case” to see if a federal type of government would work in the country.
• He added that majority of the senators do not want to rush the proposal despite the strong push from their counterparts in the House of Representatives.

External Link: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/07/19/1834880/senate-house-ok-bangsamoro-law

External Link: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2018/07/19/1834933/bangsamoro-organic-law-good-test-case-federalism-says-sotto