MANILA, April 15 — Malacanang said that the working draft of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) is still open to modification after it was submitted to the Office of the President (OP) on Monday afternoon.
Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. raised the issue in a Palace media briefing following speculations that the initial draft lacked key details that should have been included.
“By definition, a draft is something that can be supplemented and can be modified until it is finalized,” Coloma said, adding that the initial draft still has to undergo review by the legal staff of the OP.
He also shrugged off speculations that the initial draft lacked key points. He said the Office of the President’s legal team would still complete the missing details of the BBL draft submitted by the Bangsamoro Transmission Commission (BTC).
On another note, Coloma said that the whole process of review will be carried out with “a sense of urgency” because the government is aware of the indicative timetable.
“The target is to be able to submit an enacted Bangsamoro Basic Law to the people of the affected areas by (end) 2014,” Coloma said.
By that time, the PCOO chief said that there can be sufficient preparations for the conduct of elections for officials that will regularly administer the Bangsamoro political entity.
He also said that the government hoped that the election can take place simultaneously with the 2016 national elections.
Coloma said that the Palace was “optimistic” that the timetable would be followed and the final paper on the Bangsamoro Basic Law would be submitted or or before the set deadline. (Philippine News Agency)
