Drilon: We will make sure BBL follows the Constitution

Senate President Franklin M. Drilon today reiterated that the version of the Bangsamoro Basic Law to be approved by the Senate should be "within the four corners of the Constitution." 

Drilon made the statement in reaction to the statement of Sen. Ferdinand Marcos, chairman of the Senate committee on local government, that he cannot support the Palace version of the BBL.

"It is the prerogative of the committee certainly. Nobody has said that we will not revise the BBL as submitted by the Palace. We have always said that we will review and make sure that the BBL is within the four corners of the Constitution. So we will debate on the substitute bill when it is submitted to the chamber," Drilon said. "I don’t think the statement of Senator Marcos should cause much concern," he added. "The substitute bill is the committee report. It’s just called a substitute bill because it doesn’t refer to Section 1 of the BBL as submitted by Malacañang. So, maybe what he (Marcos) wants is that instead of going through an amendment of the measure, it is more convenient to present for debate a substitute bill. A substitute bill is the result of the hearings conducted in the committee," Drilon explained.

The Senate President said the senators have common ground in so far as the BBL is concerned. One, that it should pass the constitutional test. Two, that it should result in peace in Mindanao. And three, that national interest should be served.  "The Senate is a collegial body. No one can dictate (to us). The senators are all independent. They have their own independent assessment of the situation and we will debate on this," Drilon said.

As to whether the Senate can pass the BBL this month, Drilon said: "We are a democracy. We have totally independent branches of government. I think it cannot be denied that the Mamasapano episode delayed the debates on the BBL. No matter what you say, the Mamasapano incident delayed the enactment of this critical piece of legislation that can bring stability, peace and progress to Southern Mindanao."

       

Drilon also emphasized that it is not necessary for the BBL to be ratified by the people in a national plebiscite. Under the Constitution, the plebiscite is only for the affected areas.

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