PRESIDENT Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. assures Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Barmm) officials that the national government would help the region achieve a “shining beacon of sustainable development in Mindanao”.
“We will usher in a new era where Barmm becomes a shining beacon of sustainable development in Mindanao and the rest of the Philippines,” Marcos said in a speech during the first Barmm local legislative general assembly at Acacia Hotel in Lanang, Davao City, November 14.
Marcos said that during Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's visit this year, a Diplomatic Note was exchanged with Japan for non-project grant aid worth $6.8 million to improve road networks and disaster response in Barmm.
The president also said the government continues to seek support from other countries and organizations for Barmm’s success.
Marcos also emphasized the seven mechanisms of the Inter-governmental Relations Body (IRGB), as a milestone in creating institutions that are not dependent on specific individuals but rather on a “strong system”.
The National Government-Bangsamoro Government IGRB is an intergovernmental body, which provides an institutional mechanism aiming to establish sustained cooperation and coordination between Barmm agencies and national government agencies.
Barmm’s Education Minister Mohagher Iqbal and Department of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III are co-chairs of this governmental body.
Some of the units under the IGRB include the Philippine Congress-Bangsamoro Parliament Forum (PCBPF), Intergovernmental Fiscal Policy Board (IFPB), Joint Body for the Zones of Joint Cooperation (JBZJC), Intergovernmental Infrastructure Development Board (IFPB), Intergovernmental Energy Board (IEB), Bangsamoro Sustainable Development Board (BSDB), and Council of Leaders.
“It is not an effort that is only happening in Barmm, it is also a process that we are endorsing,
promoting, and encouraging in the national government to strengthen our institutions. But there
lies the way forward. There lies the way to a safe, progressive, and resilient future,” Marcos said.
As for Barmm chief minister Ahod Ibrahim, he urged his constituents and his co-officials to continue crafting responsive policies, which would safeguard people’s well-being and promote social justice.
“As we come together, let this assembly serve as a reminder that all our efforts to push for peaceful and progressive communities should be parallel and aligned with efforts of the Bangsamoro and the national government,” Ibrahim said.
The establishment of the first Barmm assembly was made possible through the guidance and collaboration of the Vice Mayors' League of the Philippines and the Barmm Ministry of the Interior and Local Government.
The event also aims to celebrate the “spirit of solidarity and empowerment” in the autonomous region that was nurtured by the passing of the Barmm Organic Law (RA 11054) on July 26, 2018. ICE