By Mario Casayuran, Manila Bulletin

In fact, the Senate will try to pass it on second reading when it resumes regular session on Jan. 18 following a four-week Christmas recess that starts tomorrow,  Drilon said.

Earlier, Sen. Ferdinand ‘’Bongbong’’ R. Marcos Jr., principal author of BLBAR which is a substitute to the controversial Malacañang-drafted Bangsamoro Basic Law  (BBL), said that the current 16th Congress (2013-2016) might not be able to pass the BLBAR  before it goes into a sine die adjournment on June 11.

“We will work for the passage of the BLBAR’’ when the Senate resumes regular session on January 18, Drilon said.

But Marcos told Senate reporters that senators  and congressmen seeking re-election or seeking other elective position like himself  might not be able to attend the session next month.

Because of this reality, Marcos said the next administration would tackle the BLBAR although he had wanted it passed so that peace would reign in the blood-drenched Muslim-dominated area in southern Mindanao.

The Congress goes into recess from February  6 to May 22 for the political campaign period and the scheduled May, 2016 national elections. It will later resume regular session on May 23 and goes into a long recess on June 16.

While the Senate may want to approve the BLBAR at least on second reading, there is no assurance that it would be passed by the House of Representatives because of its resistance to the controversial BBL following the Jan. 25 Mamasapano bloody incident where 44 Philippine National Police-Special Action Force   policemen died in an encounter at an area under the influence of the secessionist Moro Islamic Liberation Front(MILF).

The BBL was crafted by Malacañang’s Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process and the MILF.