Senate giving top priority to BBL—Drilon

Senate President Franklin M. Drilon today said passing the Bangsamoro Basic Law is the top priority of the Upper Chamber.

Asked by media whether lawmakers are having second thoughts about passing the BBL after the hearings on the Mamasapano incident, Drilon said the two chambers are unified in giving priority to passing the proposed law establishing the Bangsamoro political entity.

"Speaker Belmonte has said that it is still in top of their agenda. On our part, if the Committee submits its report to the plenary, then we will give it priority in the calendar," Drilon explained. 

The Senate President said the reported killing of bomb-maker Basit Usman, a high-value target of the government, "assuming it is true, would help in restoring trust in the MILF" after Mamasapano.

Drilon said he is confident the BBL would be passed by June 11 as the Senate will place it on top of its priority agenda once the committee report is submitted o the plenary.

"We will exercise our leadership in both chambers of Congress to give priority to the debates on the BBL," he added.

Aside from the BBL, the Senate will prioritize several economic measures.

These are the Cabotage Law, the Tax Incentive Monitoring and Transparency Act (TIMTA), and the merger of Landbank and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP).

"We agreed that the two chambers of Congress will prioritize these," Drilon said.

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