BANGSAMORO Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Barmm) Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim on Thursday night, December 22, 2022, signed into law Parliament Bill No. 54 or the Bangsamoro Expenditure Program (BEP) for 2023 amounting to P85.3 billion.
“The BEP 2023 is inspired by many things; our collective experiences, recent economic changes, and just recently, tragedies that struck at the very core of our homeland. These factors have been thoroughly considered in this process, and I am optimistic that the roadmap for next year is clear and responsive to the needs of the Bangsamoro,” Ebrahim said in a statement Friday, December 23.
Parliament Bill No. 54 was approved on its third and final reading by the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) Parliament on Tuesday, December 20, with 44 affirmative votes, zero negative votes, and zero abstentions.
From P79.8 billion for 2022, the Barmm budget has increased to P85.3 billion for 2023—roughly around 6.89 percent increment with big chunks of the budget allocated to education, health, infrastructure, and social services.
The top 10 ministries and offices with the biggest budget allocation are the following: Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education, P27.2 billion; Ministry of Public Works, P16.4 billion; Office of the Chief Minister, P5.9 billion; Ministry of Health, P5.8 billion; Bangsamoro Transition Authority, P3.9 billion; Ministry of Social Services and Development, P3.07 billion; Ministry of the Interior and Local Government, P2.04 billion; Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Agrarian Reform, P1.5 billion; Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources, and Energy, P666 million; and, Ministry of Transportation and Communications, P539 million.
On the remarkable approval of the bill, BTA Committee on Finance, Budget, and Management (CFBM) chaired by Public Work Minister and Member of the Parliament Arch Eduard Guera disclosed that the proposed government expenditures program underwent rigid scrutiny and deliberation where agencies and offices appeared before the committee to present and defend their budget.
“The CFBM truly underwent marathon hearings and scrutinized the proposed budgets of all ministries and offices to ensure that the budget is for the Bangsamoro people,” Guera said.
“Following this approval, we will move forward with the implementation of all projects and programs in the provinces of the region, including the Special Geographic Area,” he added.
Special Geographic Area or SGA is composed of 63 barangays from Cotabato Province which became an addition to the official territory of the Barmm after a successful plebiscite in 2019. (SunStar Zamboanga)