Sec. Deles urges civic leaders to scrutinize BBL

DAVAO CITY– Merely urging Congress to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) is not enough, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos Deles told a gathering of more than 30 civic society leaders ?in this city as she challenged them to scrutinize the Bangsamoro bill being discussed in Congress and encourage debate among fellow stakeholders. The BBL has to be a law that passes scrutiny,” Deles said, urging attendees to raise the bar of the discourse to achieve an all-inclusive law. The call should beand Let's scrutinize and debate it,” she said in order to ensure that there is ownership of the law among the stakeholders and the public. Deles encouraged peace advocates to beef up their awareness campaigns and carefully study and understand the BBL through social actions until it reaches mass media, opinion shapers, and most especially Congress. One way, she said, is for the CSOs to help the government educate the public comprehend the intricacies of the Bangsamoro Bill by proactively engaging in the legal and technical discourses.” Deles said stakeholders need to help to ensure the smooth implementation of the law.” Implementation entails moving forward with the roadmap towards the establishment of the Bangsamoro which means the holding of a plebiscite and going through a transition period next year before the elections for the future Bangsamoro government is held in 2016. At the latter part of last month, the Philippine Senate and the House of the Representatives began the grueling deliberations on the bill that seeks to create a genuinely autonomous political entity for the Bangsamoro people in southern Philippines. The two houses of Congress vowed to pass the bill within the first quarter of 2015.