Palace hopes Congress would deliberate on
priority legislation, should there be talks on Charter Change, official says
The Palace hopes Congress would have enough time
to deliberate on priority legislation submitted by the Executive branch, should
legislators start discussing Charter Change, an official said Friday.
"Umaasa kami na mabibigyan ng sapat na
atensiyon iyong mga naisumite ng Pangulo na 26 priority bills sa Mababa at
Mataas na Kapulungan," Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said
in a press briefing in Malacañang.
“Pero mahirap muna sumagot ngayon, kasi medyo
hypothetical,” she quickly added.
Some quarters have expressed skepticism on the
timely passage of such priority legislation as the Bangsamoro Basic Law and the
Freedom of Information Bill, should legislators start tackling Charter Change.
"Alam kong medyo mataas ang level of
interest ngayon, pero hindi pa naman natin alam talaga kung ano ang mga susunod
na hakbang. Pero umaasa kami na, whatever happens, sana mabigyan ng sapat na
atensiyon ang mga importanteng priority bills na naisumite ng Pangulo,"
she said.
While there has been no request from the
President to work immediately on the priority bills, Valte said Executive
Secretary Paquito Ochoa, Jr., Senate President Frank Drilon, House of
Representatives Speaker Sonny Belmonte, and other members of Congress are
discussing these bills.
In his State of the Nation Address last month,
President Benigno S. Aquino III cited several priority bills, among them the
national budget bill, the supplemental budget for 2014, the uniformed personnel
pension reform bill, and a joint resolution to clarify certain definitions and
concepts in the Supreme Court decision on his Disbursement Acceleration Program
(DAP).
Also on the Palace list are the proposed tax
incentives management law, the bill seeking to amend the build-operate-transfer
law, the cabotage law, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas charter, Human Security
Act, Ombudsman Act, and the Anti-Enforced Disappearance Act.
The Palace is also seeking amendments to the law
facilitating the acquisition of right-of-way, site or location for government
infrastructure projects.
It also wants to remove investment restrictions
in specific laws cited in the Foreign Investment Negative List. PND (as)
Government, MILF agree on resolutions that will
be part of Bangsamoro draft Law
The government and the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front (MILF) have agreed on several resolutions that will form part of the
draft Bangsamoro Basic Law to be submitted to President Aquino.
"The parties have agreed that the
resolutions arrived at by both parties will be incorporated into the final
draft of the Basic Bangsamoro Law that will be prepared and submitted to
President Benigno S. Aquino III," Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, Jr.
and Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) Chairman Mohagher Iqbal said in a
joint statement issued on Friday.
In the statement, Ochoa and Iqbal said they have
concluded discussions on the various issues involving the draft Basic
Bangsamoro Law, which was originally drafted by the BTC and submitted to the
President last April.
Aside from the government and MILF peace panels,
the Office of the Presidential Adviser for the Peace Process, the Office of the
Executive Secretary, and the Office of the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel
also participated in the discussions.
The Bangsamoro Basic Law was scheduled to be
submitted to Congress last May but the Palace review and other developments
have delayed its submission.
Once the draft is approved by Congress, a
plebiscite will be held and a transition authority will be created. An election
in the Bangsamoro will be held in 2016 so that its people could choose their
leaders.
President Aquino vowed to push for the conduct of
a fair and democratic election in the region in 2016. PND (as)
Palparan has chance to defend himself in court,
Palace official says
Former Army major general Jovito Palparan could
now defend himself in court, a Palace official said in reaction to reports that
retired generals believe that Palparan is a victim of trial by publicity.
"Now he has the chance to have an actual
trial," Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte said in a press
briefing in Malacañang on Friday.
Asked if the government does not recognize
Palparan's success in his anti-communism campaign in the past, Valte said his
past efforts are not the issue.
She said that Palparan, who is facing serious
illegal detention charges, could argue in court that his actions were part of
his duty as a military man.
"Those are matters of defense that are
properly taken up in a trial. If he intends to adopt that as a defense, then he
is free to do so," she said, adding that the Palace does not want to get
mired in the issue by reacting to Palparan's past performance.
On why the President did not entertain
Palparan's surrender feelers, Valte said he may not have seen it fit.
The President thought that if Palparan really
wanted to surrender, then he could have turned himself over to anyone or to the
authorities, she explained.
Palparan, one of the most wanted persons, was
arrested by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in Manila
before dawn on Tuesday.
Authorities have offered a P2-million bounty for
information leading to his capture.
The former congressman is accused of illegally
detaining activist Jonas Burgos and University of the Philippines students
Sherlyn Cadapan and Karen Empeño, as well as executing suspected members of the
New People's Army. PND (as)
