House fails to ratify Bangsamoro law amid leadership row
THE House of Representatives failed to ratify the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) on Monday at the opening of the Third Regular Session of Congress ahead of President Rodrigo Duterte’s third State of the Nation Address (SONA).
The delay stemmed from a fight for the Speakership between incumbent Pantaleon Alvarez of Davao del Norte and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, which surfaced after 161 so-called supporters of Arroyo voted to install her as the new House leader.
Hopes of ratifying the BOL dimmed as Alvarez, as presiding officer, chose instead to call for Charter change, which would include the removal of term limits under a new federal constitution.
After Alvarez finished his speech, there was an hour-long lull in the session before it was adjourned with Deputy Speaker Gwen Garcia of Cebu acting as presiding officer.
The session adjourned without a change in House leadership, but lawmakers, including Rep. Antonio Tinio of Alliance of Concerned Teachers party-list, confirmed to reporters that the House members were holding separate caucuses in an effort to map out a game plan to oust Alvarez.
Without the House’s ratification of the Bicameral Conference Committee Report on the BOL, it could not be signed into law by the President.
The BOL abolishes the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and replaces it with the Bangsamoro Region, which will enjoy fiscal autonomy under a duly-elected Bangsamoro Parliament.
The Senate ratified the Bicam report on the BOL. LLANESCA T. PANTI
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