The Senate Committee on Local Government chaired by Sen. Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said yesterday that its proposed substitute Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) bill is designed to bring lasting peace in troubled Mindanao.

This does not mean that the Senate will totally disregard the draft BBL and write an entirely new proposal, he said.

… One of the speakers, Bilveer Singh, of RSIS’ Centre for Excellence for National Security, said the Mindanao peace process serves as “a model for ASEAN.” He described the Mindanao peace process as “so important” because it seeks to put an end to over 300 years of conflict.