The bicameral conference committee will submit next week to President Rodrigo Duterte the final version of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) for his approval.

House Majority Floor Leader Rodolfo Fari?as said the committee report on the harmonized version of the BBL is in its finishing touches so it can be ratified during the morning session of Congress on July 23 and allow Duterte to sign it into law hours before his third State of the Nation Address (SoNA) at 4 pm of the same day.

Fari?as said senators and congressmen will meet July 17 to approve the final version he and Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri have been finalizing and submit it to Duterte.

“We finished everything in principle at 12:15 a.m. Friday (July 13). The BiCam Conference Committee authorized Sen. Zubiri and I to finalize our report and we will meet on Tuesday, July 17, for its approval and, forthwith, forward it to the president for his consideration," said the Ilocos Norte lawmaker.

"If he finds it to his approval, we will have it ratified in plenary by the House of Representatives and the Senate when we convene our 3rd Regular Session on Monday, July 23, 2018, at 10 am, for it to be signed into law by the president on or before the SoNA at 4 pm,” Fari?as said. DMS