BARMM News
By EDD K. USMAN
Short link: https://wp.me/paaccn-kTZ
DUSIT THANI MANILA, Makati City, August 8, 2022 — Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Adiong, Jr. and Tawi-Tawi Governor Yshmael I. Sali have arrived here for the training of newly elected officials (NEO) in the Bangsamoro region.
The three-day training which started today, Monday, for the local chief executives (LCEs) — governors and mayors — of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) is being funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). JICA is a long-time benefactor and supporter of the Mindanao peace process, helping with funds, personnel, and technical knowhow dating back to the defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) peace negotiation with the Philippine Government (GPH).
Later in the time of the peace talks between the GPH and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the Japanese agency’s humanitarian and developmental assistance is still very much alive. JICA is one of the many international organizations and foreign governments helping and propping up the decades-old peace process in the Land of Promise (Southern Philippines).
The JICA-funded training for the BARMM local chief executives is being handled and managed by the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILG) headed by Minister Naguib G. Sinarimbo.
Sinarimbo, also the BARMM spokesperson, has cited the need to capacitate LCEs in the region, saying the requisite of the time requires government servants to be always on their toes in addressing and responding to the needs of their constituents.
Comprising the territory of the BARMM are the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, and the cities of Cotabato, Lamitan, and Marawi, as well as the Special Geographic Area (SGA) made up of 63 barangays or villages in North Cotabato that opted to be under BARMM jurisdiction.
North Cotabato itself is not part of the region. As a new political entity (NPE), the BARMM was established through the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) to implement the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).
As of press time today at 11:57 a.m., Basilan has six municipalities in attendance; Lanao del Sur, 34; Maguindanao, 14; Sulu, 10; and Tawi-Tawi, 11.
BARMM newly elected officials undergo training on governance
The BARMM per Philippine Atlas covers five provinces, three cities, 116 municipalities, and 63 barangay or villages belonging to the SGA. Its population as of 2020 is pegged at 4,404,288. Basilan has 11 municipalities; Lanao del Sur, 39; Maguindanao, 36; Sulu, 19; and Tawi-Tawi, 11. Its component cities are Cotabato City (the regional center and capital) in Maguindanao; Lamitan in Basilan; and Marawi in Lanao del Sur.
It can be recalled that the MILG conducted a three-day Training for Trainors (TOT) on July 30-August 1, 2022 in Davao City in preparation for the LCEs training. which is now being held until August 10 in this hotel.
Among the objectives of the LCEs’ training, the MILG said, is to “enhance their legislative capacity”, per the Bangsamoro.gov.ph portal.
MILG Director General Khalid Dumagay noted the importance of the training for the LCEs.
“Based on our Local Government Performance Management Tool, one of the areas we saw that needs improvement is the legislative capacity of our LGUs,” he said at the TOT in Davao City.
Dumagay pointed out that many of the BARMM’s newly elected officials are neophytes in their respective posts, saying 41 across the Bangsamoro region are new, while new councilors range from 30 to 40 percent of those elected in the May 9, 2022 national and local elections.
The LCEs’ training module now being implemented is made up of six vital topics that cover the Bangsamoro region’s history and subject matters encompassing local level governance. SUBATRA (Support to Bangsamoro Transition) assisted in the module’s crafting. (✓)