Enrile hits back at PNoy over speech on EDSA anniversary

Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile lashed back at Benigno Aquino III over the President's remark during the 30th EDSA anniversary rites.

In his speech at the People Power Monument on Thursday, Aquino blamed Enrile and Senator Bongbong Marcos for the failure of Congress to pass the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

A report on Unang Balita on Friday quoted Enrile as saying that Aquino keeps on blaming people over the failure of the BBL,  but doesn't have enough understanding of the history of the country.  

During his speech, Aquino said that Enrile and Marcos blocked that BBL.

"Hindi ba ang BBL ay naipit sa Senado sa kumite para sa lokal na gobyerno, na pinamumunuan ni Senador Marcos? 'Di ba nung pinakahuling araw ng sesyon, tuloy pa rin ang pag-interpellate ni Senador Enrile? At di po ba, itong dalawang apelyido ding ito ang siyang nagtulak ng military solution para sa mga Moro noong panahon ng diktadurya?" Aquino said.

But Enrile said that at the time, the military was needed in Mindanao due to attacks by rebels.

Aquino should have talked to his allies in Congress regarding the BBL, the report quoted Enrile as saying.

On Feb. 5, the House of Representatives and Senate adjourned without putting the proposed BBL to a vote for plenary approval.

This means that the bill needs to be re-filed by a new Congress under a new administration.

The BBL is one of the products of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) signed by both the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the government in 2014.

It was expected to lead into the creation of a Bangsamoro juridical entity that would have replaced the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. — LBG, GMA News