HOUSE Speaker Prospero Nograles said possible amendments to the Organic Act of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (Armm) are needed in light of the ongoing peace talks between the government and Moro rebels.
“I will get the House of Representatives to start working on a possible amendment of the Organic Act for Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao or for the crafting of an entirely new law on Muslim Mindanao,” Nograles said.
With three session days left, there is one pending bill that seeks to amend a vital part of the Armm law.
House Bill 1769 filed by Tawi-tawi Representative Nur Jaafar seeks to decentralized the appointment of teachers and other officers of the Armm.
Jaafar said the current system that delegates the sole responsibility to the Armm governor has been causing too much bottleneck in the issuance of appointments and delayed salaries for teachers and lower ranking officers and employees of the autonomous region.
If the bill is passed, the responsibility of appointing low-ranking officers will be given to department heads, while the appointment of teachers shall be vested on the school division heads.
Nograles said the bill could be expanded in order to accommodate other terms that may arise out of the negotiations.
The pending house bill is part of the priority list of bills earlier enumerated by Nograles. (Angela Casauay/Sunnex)