MARAWI CITY (PIA)--After a series of public consultations across the Bangsamoro region, the members of the Bangsamoro Parliament’s Committee on Rules have started deliberating on the provisions of the proposed Bangsamoro Electoral Code (BEC), or Parliament Bill No. 29.

The committee members have reviewed the position papers that various groups sent in as well as the comments made during the public consultations.

During this week's committee meetings, they will look at the bill closely based on the comments from the public consultations and the position papers from different groups and stakeholders.

Lawyer Sha Elijah Dumama-Alba, who is in charge of the Committee on Rules, said the committee has given the job of improving the wording of the draft law's provisions to a different group to make sure that it is constitutional and follows other laws.

"We are hoping to finish the deliberations at the committee level on February 8, and on February 10, which would be the period of amendments for the proposed language to be presented, the members of the committee will vote," Alba said.

"It is very important to have a code that would embody the structural, functional, and procedural principles of having elections in the BARMM, particularly parliamentary elections," she added.

She said they target to file the committee report on PB No. 29 to the plenary on Feb. 16 (Thursday), and the plenary deliberations will start February 20.

The committee hopes that the proposed BEC will become law in the first quarter of this year.

The Committee on Rules has held 12 public consultations in Manila, Cotabato City, Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, and the Special Geographic Area of BARMM.

The Committee also received position papers from national offices, local government unit officials, civil society organizations, election watchdogs, academe, religious sector representatives, indigenous people, women, youth groups, and other stakeholders.

Alba said the Bangsamoro Electoral Code will lay down the manner of electing the 80 members of the Bangsamoro Parliament, which would be composed of 50 percent party representatives, 40 percent district representatives, and 10 percent sectoral representatives. (BIO/PIA-10/Lanao del Sur)