President Duterte asks Congress to pass BBL sans unconstitutional provisions

MANILA -- President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday urged members of the 17th Congress to pass the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) minus the unconstitutional provisions that are contentious in order for peace to prosper immediately in Mindanao pending the shift to a federal system of government.In his first State of the Nation Address (SONA) at the joint session of the 17th Congress held at the Batasan Pambansa in Quezon City, Duterte said that only federalism would put an end to the Muslim conflict in Mindanao. Yung BBL ibigay na natin, minus the things that you do not want, yung mga constitutional issues, tanggalin muna natin,” he told the lawmakers. Nandiyan na yan e. I ask you to pass it minus the constitutional issues that are contentious. Ibigay na natin and when the federal system comes, isama mo na sa package. That’s the solution for Mindanao,” Duterte said.The BBL was the result of a peace deal inked between the Aquino administration and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to create a more politically autonomous region in Mindanao to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).Its passage was scraped in the 16th Congress in the aftermath of the Mamasapano incident. Nothing else will work. Believe me, nothing else will do. Please sleep on it and ponder on it. That’s the only way to proceed,” Duterte said to the legislators.