BBL substitute bill may be ready next week

MANILA, Philippines - The Senate committee on local government is still threshing out issues on economic provisions, the decommissioning process and the P70-billion block grant in the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law before the panel finally presents the substitute BBL bill for plenary debates next week.

Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. explained that the committee, which he chairs, is threshing out many constitutional issues in the BBL to make sure that the measure will not suffer the same fate as the Memorandum on Agreement on Ancestral Domain, which was struck down by the Supreme Court during the time of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The BBL is the legal translation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro signed by the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

If enacted, the BBL will be the legal basis for the creation of the Bangsamoro political entity to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Bangsamoro will have greater political and economic powers than the ARMM.

Among the aspects questioned by the BBL’s opponents are the extent of the Bangsamoro government’s powers and the nature of the new political entity.

Marcos said he would consult anew Senate President Franklin Drilon on giving senators a timeframe on the debates, considering that the Senate would also be busy with the proposed P3-trillion budget, among other priority measures.

“The problem is the draft BBL itself. The very basic and biggest problem of course is the unconstitutionality. Next to that is the lack of clarity. Ang gulo eh (It is not clear),” the senator said.

Marcos cited the proposed P70-billion block grant to be provided under the national budget for the BBL government.

“That is a big problem. First of all, a block grant is basically a subsidy given to a local government to implement a national program. In this case, their use of a block grant is wrong because what the national government will give is for operations,” he explained in Filipino.

Marcos stressed the need to ensure that proper mechanisms are in place for checks and balances to ensure proper use of the block grant, which is in addition to the allocation of Internal Revenue Allotment for local government units. – With Alexis Romero