- Sen. Bongbong Marcos said that the Senate shouldn’t be blamed for the non-passage of the BBL
- Marcos passed the blame to Pres. Benigno Aquino’s allies in the House of Representatives
- Marcos said the Lower House had not approved its version of the bill
Senate Committee on Local Government chairman Ferdinand Marcos Jr., said that the Senate is not to be blamed for the non-passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in the current Congress.
Earlier, during the EDSA People Power celebrations, President Aquino said it was Marcos and Senator Juan Ponce Enrile who made the BBL impossible to be passed under his term.
“Was it not Sen. Marcos who headed the committee on local government that impeded the passage of the BBL? Was it also not Sen. Enrile who kept on interpellating during the last session day at the Senate? Had it not been Enrile and Marcos who pushed for the military solution for the Moros during the dictatorship?” the President said in his remarks, as quoted by Manila Bulletin.
Marcos, who is also currently running as a vice presidential candidate, instead, passed the blame to his colleagues in the House of Representatives, particularly allies of President Benigno Aquino III who make up the Majority.
The Senator said that poor attendance in the Lower House contributed to the failure of the bill to pass into law.
“Ang Majority palagay ko hindi sila sang-ayon sa BBL, lalo na sa Palace version, kaya hindi sila pumapasok. Tinataguan ng mga congressman dahil ayaw nila pero pinipilit ng Palasyo, [The Majority, I think, is not in favor of the BBL, especially the Palace version, so they were not present. The congressmen were hiding from it because they are not in favor but they are being forced by the Palace],” Marcos told ABS-CBN News.
In addition, the Senator also said that because the BBL is a local bill, the Senate was simply waiting for the House of Representatives to pass their version first, in accordance to parliamentary procedure.
“Hindi yan maapprove-approve sa Lower House kaya hindi namin mapagbotohan sa Senado. Ang BBL ay local bill. Tingnan nila kung ano ba naging problema sa House. [It had not been approved in the Lower House so we cannot vote on it in the Senate. The BBL is a local bill. They should see what has been the problem in the (Lower) House],” he said.
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