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Bangsamoro Basic Law

Ph gov’t to continue info campaign on benefits of Bangsamoro Basic Law

Bangsamoro Basic Law
Bangsamoro Basic Law

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine government initiative to raise awareness on the Bangsamoro Basic Law will continue until the general public appreciates the benefits of having a peace deal with Muslim separatists in Mindanao, a Palace official said.
A recent Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey shows only 23 percent of Filipinos support the Bangsamoro Basic Law although those in the core areas or in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao had a positive reception on the proposal.
It should be a continued stakeholder engagement, but the survey is a good indicator for the government, Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a radio interview Saturday.
The positive reception of the people in the ARMM on the BBL means they see what could be the immediate benefit of the Bangsamoro Basic Law to their community, Valte told dzRB Radyo ng Bayan.
“As to the rest of the country, it will have to be… the efforts to explain the BBL will continue, efforts to consult with stakeholders will continue, primarily led by the OPAPP (Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process), the peace panel, the peace advocates and the stakeholders that have come onboard to support the BBL,” she added.
In an interview with Bombo Radyo this week, President Aquino said the passage of the BBL is still on track and the two chambers of Congress remain committed for its passage.
But Aquino pointed out that he and other peace supporters would find a “watered-down” version of the BBL unacceptable because it will be tantamount to reducing benefits accruing to the Bangsamoro people.
He also expressed optimism that the members of the Congress Ad Hoc Committee are now in the process of enhancing and improving the proposed BBL, as the same is now considered as a historic measure once enacted into law.
An enhanced law will further help the Bangsamoro push towards attaining lasting peace and genuine development in Mindanao, the President said.

Criselda Cabangon David, a happy mother of two kids, is a full-time Sociologist at the City Government of Lucena, Quezon Province. She is currently the Managing Editor of Ang Diaryo Natin Sunday News, a weekly local community newspaper in the Philippines and an active member of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines.