Rizal Hall, Malacañan Palace
July 17, 2017

President Rodrigo Roa Duterte assured his commitment to prioritize the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in the legislation during its ceremonial turnover in the Rizal Hall of Malacañan Palace.

“I commit to support in front of everybody my covenant with you that I will support and husband this instrument as it goes in the legislator for its consideration,” the President said.

Handing over the Bangsamoro Basic Law to the President was Bangsamoro Transition Commission Chair Ghazali Jaafar, which he described as more inclusive than the one submitted in the 16th Congress.

He added that the new proposed BBL would serve as an “antidote to the violent extremism,” which he said was fueled out of frustration by some Moros that have wrought havoc in Marawi City. He concludes that once legislated, “the BBL will erase the doubt on the peace process” that would ensure a just and dignified peace that only the BBL could offer. He further assured the President that the Bangsamoro government would be at the forefront in “keeping public order and safety, dispensing justice within the bounds of law, and deliver the basic requisites for a good life long denied to the Bangsamoro.”

President Duterte also recognized the occasion as “a significant step forward in our quest to end centuries of hatred, mistrust and injustice that cost and affected the lives of millions of Filipinos.”

“The draft Bangsamoro Basic Law embodies our shared aspirations of a peaceful, orderly and harmonious nation. After decades of armed struggle and violence, we will soon come up with a constitutionally consistent legal instrument that will lay the foundation for establishing the real and lasting peace in Mindanao,” the President added.

Joining the President on stage during the turnover ceremony were Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III, House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza, Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, MILF Peace Panel Chair Mohagler Iqbal, Government of the Philippines (GPH) Peace Panel Chair Irene Santiago, and Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.

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