To highlight the importance of the measure, the Senate will break tradition on 23 July to ratify the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) in time for President Duterte’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) instead of the ceremonial opening of session.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said, by tradition, senators open the session by receiving the letters from Malacañang regarding the President’s Sona at the House of Representatives.

“We will break protocol…during the opening for Sona, usually we only receive the letter from Malacañang calling for Sona, that’s the only thing we tackle, we don’t tackle other matters,” Zubiri said on radio.

“But since this bill is very important, and we want the President to announce that we have complied with our promise to the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) that lasting peace will continue in Mindanao, we will break protocol and we will tackle this (BBL) to show the people that the government is sincere in achieving lasting peace,” he added.

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon does not see any problem with Zubiri’s plan to ratify the BBL when Senate opens session on July 23.

“That is the plan and there is nothing wrong with it. That is legal,” Drilon said.

“On Tuesday, we will see finally the clean draft and we will again review. We have (July) 17, 18, 19 to continue to refine, then ratification on 23,” he added.

Last week, the bicameral committee held four-day marathon consultations to reconcile the BBL versions of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

The joint panel wanted to come up with a reconciled version last Thursday but came up short due to intense deliberations on the contentious territorial jurisdiction and plebiscite issues.

The Senate adopted the Comprehensive Agreement of the Bangsamoro (CAB) inclusion of six towns and 39 barangays in Lanao del Norte and Cotabato, respectively, but the House of Representatives opposed it – leading to a deadlock.

Committee members sought the intercession of Mr. Duterte to break the deadlock. Eventually, government legal experts declared the CAB’s provision on territorial jurisdiction and the manner on how to conduct plebiscite as unconstitutional.

Zubiri said the proposed law is 99 percent completed and the bicameral committee will be meeting again tomorrow to finalize it.

“Maybe by Tuesday afternoon, we can approve the final version,” Zubiri said, stressing lawmakers are really being careful in the wordings of the law to keep it within the bounds of the Constitution.

“We were delayed because we want to make sure that it is constitutionally compliant,” Zubiri said.

Zubiri is optimistic the final BBL version will be acceptable to the MILF-led Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC).

At the same time, the senator assured non-Muslims within the new Bangsamoro political entity that the adopted Shariah judicial system will not antagonize them.

“This should not alarm Christians and indigenous peoples because this (Shariah judicial system) is only for Muslims while Christians are not affected,” Zubiri said, stressing Christians under the Bangsamoro government are covered by regular courts.

Drilon is optimistic peace can be achieved in Mindanao with the BBL’s passage but he is not too optimistic it will promote good governance.

He expressed confidence the newly crafted BBL will hurdle possible challenges on its constitutionality.