Press Release
December 1, 2015

Sen. Marcos Says Congress May Be Able To Pass
BLBAR If House Musters Quorum To Tackle It

Senator Ferdinand "Bongbong" R. Marcos, Jr. today said it may be possible for Congress to pass the proposed Basic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region if the House of Representatives can muster a quorum to tackle its own version of the bill.

Marcos, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Government, said he is ready to answer the questions of his colleagues on BLBAR as the Senate resumes its deliberation of the bill this week.

"Deliberations of the BLBAR in the House had been stalled because of a lack of quorum. Now, if they can muster a quorum to proceed with their discussions it may be possible to pass the bill before our session ends," Marcos said.

House ad hoc committee Chair Rufus Rodriguez admitted that because of the coming elections many solons prefer to spend most of their time in their respective districts.

Earlier, Marcos said the Senate will try to pass the BLBAR within the remaining session days of Congress.

"We are still in the period of interpellation. After that we will take up amendments that the other Senators will propose. Then, we will vote on it and pass it," Marcos, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local Government said.

"I think the substitute bill that I wrote, once it has been properly amended by the Senators, I think it should pass," he added.

While Marcos admitted that he has no control over the length of the interpellations he remains confident the Senate can find a consensus to speed up their deliberation on the measure meant to bring peace to Muslim Mindanao.

"The peace process cannot end. We cannot allow it to end. We must continue to find a way to bring peace to Muslim Mindanao," Marcos concluded.

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