President Rodrigo Roa Duterte is set to sign into law the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) before the scheduled State of the Nation Address, the Palace confirmed Thursday.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, Jr. during a Palace press briefing on July 19 assured that the President would sign the BBL, which he himself certified as urgent, as soon as the Chief Executive receives the approved version of the bill.
“[A]t dahil natapos po sila ng kanilang bicameral conference, mayroon na pong malalagdaan na BBL ang Presidente bago po ang kanyang SONA sa darating na Lunes,” Secretary Roque said.
“It’s possible that it will be on Monday. I think that’s the target anyway,” Roque added.
The President’s spokesperson thanked lawmakers and members of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) for passing the BBL.
Sec. Roque, in the same press briefing, reiterated there will be no adverse effect on the economy should federalism push through, citing there would be no expected deficit and downgrade as far as the country’s credit rating is concerned.
The Palace official added the national budget will remain at P3.7 trillion as previously approved by the national government.
“Now, ganito rin po ang mangyayari ‘pag nagkaroon ng pederalismo. Sa draft Constitution po, 50-50 na po ang IRA ‘no, 50% sa national, 50% sa lokal. Ang mangyayari po diyan ay i-identify talaga natin ano iyong mga nakasaad sa Saligang Batas na gagawin ngayon ng mga lokal na pamahalaan,” Roque said.
“At karamihan po ng implementation ng proyekto ay mapupunta na po sa lokal na pamahalaan, pero hindi po ibig sabihin na tataas ang ating budget,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Palace official also confirmed that there would not be a ‘No Election’ scenario to make way for Charter change, saying that the President himself opposes this idea.
“Talagang hindi po siya payag sa No-El para lamang sa Charter Change,” Roque announced.
“So unang una, we would like to inform the people that is the position of the President. Naniniwala po siya sa demokraysa. Naniniwala siya sa election. At ang nais niya ay isabay na itong referendum sa election,” Roque stressed.
‘Palace says Philippines maintains tag as one of the fastest growing economy in Asia’
Citing the latest report by Fitch Ratings, Secretary Roque said the Philippines maintains its ‘BBB’ rating with a Stable Outlook for Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR).
The Fitch Ratings report said the country has sustained its place among the fastest growing economies in the Asia-Pacific region as domestic demand is seen to grow by 6.8% in 2019 and 2020.
“(N)ational government revenue is expected to contribute to the country’s GDP growth by preserving fiscal stability as government expenditure increases under the planned public-investment program. GDP is seen to improve by 16.2% in 2018 and 16.7% in 2019,” Roque added.
Sec. Roque likewise mentioned the strong foreign investor confidence citing the 43.5% year-on-year growth in the first quarter of 2018, which amounted to US$2.2 billion. (PCO-Content)