By Hannah Torregoza
Senate sub-committee chair on the proposed Bangsamoro basic law (BBL) Senator Juan Miguel “Migz” Zubiri yesterday said he is confident the Senate can beat its deadline and pass the measure in March.
Speaking to reporters after another hearing on the BBL, Zubiri said the committee will hold four more hearings on Sulu, Tawi-tawi, Basilan and Zamboanga on Feb. 8 and 9 before wrapping up its hearings with one final consultation before releasing a committee report on the BBL.
“I would be ready with a committee report two weeks after. So we are in a timeline of a March deadline. So we will finish this as soon as possible,” Zubiri told reporters during the interview.
“And we would like to express how important it is to be able to have the final peace agreement signed by the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) and other armed groups with the government. And this is one of the necessary reforms,” he said.
Commissioner Sultan Firdausi Ismail Abbas, a member of the Bangsamoro Transition Committee (BTC), said they are satisfied with the pacing of the Senate’s hearing on the BBL which they are looking forward to being passed on time.