Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago, chair of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments and revision of codes, on Monday started public hearings on the constitutionality of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) using the debate format. Santiago opened the hearing by identifying four major issues on the constitutionality of BBL: (1) legislation v. constitutional change; (2) checks and balances in the national government v. none in the BBL; (3) sovereignty v. sub-state; and (4) territorial integrity v. functional division. She paired off the members of the resource panel, depending on whether they are in favor of or against the BBL. The first debate paired off Sec. Teresita Quintos-Deles, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, against former Supreme Court Justice Florentino P. Feliciano on legislation v. constitutional change. Deles argued that the BBL can be passed as if it was an ordinary law promulgated by the two Houses of Congress. On the other hand, Feliciano contended that the BBL should be embodied as a proposal for constitutional amendment or revision. interaksyon/article/103721/sen--miriam-to-hold-monday-hearing-on-bangsamoro-law-constitutionality UPDATE - 1:10 p.m. Monday, January 26, 2015
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 10:16:02 +0000