Cagayan de Oro City Representative Rufus Rodriguez, the principal author-sponsor of the Bangsamoro Bill (BBL) in the House of Representatives appears to be losing hope on the bill’s eventual approval. According to the congressman, the BBL must be passed before December 16 or else it will surely fail.
Rep. Rodriguez noted that the House of Representatives have only 10 session days left to pass the BBL. The Bangsamoro Bill would create a new Bangsamoro region in Muslim Mindanao if passed before lawmakers go on a month-long Christmas break in mid-December.
Another problem of the proposed BBL is in mustering a quorum which will be more difficult because most lawmaker will be busy with their respective political ambitions in the 2016 national elections.
The congressman also noted that the BBL could still be passed if there is a “more forceful intervention” from President Benigno S. Aquino III. The controversial BBL bill is still in the period of plenary debates in the House of Representatives and the Philippine Senate.
The two legislative bodies, the House of Representatives and the Senate are scheduled to start their Christmas recess on December 19, 2015, while December 16 is the last session day of the House for the year 2015 since it convenes only from Monday through Wedenesday.
The Philippine Congress will be in session for only nine days after the reconvening on January 19, 2016. It will adjourn again on Feb. 6 for more than three months for the long national and local election campaign.
