“But we need to help each other to achieve our goal…supervise yourselves, all you do must be in accordance with moral governance, not only by word but by our actions.”
Bangsamoro Chief Minister Al-Hajj Murad Ebrahim at Dusit Thani Manila in Makati City, Metro Manila in 2022. (Photo: SDN — SciTech and Digital News)
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By EDD K. USMAN | Twitter: @edd1819 | Instagram: @bluestar0910 | Facebook: SDN — SciTech and Digital News
COTABATO CITY (SDN) January 23, 2023 — Mayor Reynalbert O. Insular of South Upi, Maguindanao, won today, Monday, the grand prize of the “Pagkilala” Awards called “SEAL”, meaning the Salamat Excellence Award for Leadership.
In the process, South Upi’s chief local executive (LCE), took home the biggest prize of the “Pagkilala” Awards, amounting to Php2.5 million.
“Pagkilala” which means “recognition” is a program of the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILG) headed by lawyer Naguib G. Sinarimbo. He is also the spokesperson of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
This year is the third edition of “Pagkilala”, which recognizes and awards performing and outstanding local government units (LGUs) of BARMM. In so doing, they awardees have distinguished themselves from the rest.
For the third iteration of the awards, the Bangsamoro government, after an exhaustive and tedious selection process based on gathered data, came up with 153 LGUs which won in the awards various categories.
Of the 153 LGUs, South Upi through the leadership of Insular, separated itself from the pack, taking the SEAL Award, named after the founding chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), Sheikh Salamat Hashim, who passed away on July 13, 2003, but not before leaving behind a leadership legacy the BARMM wants preserved and followed by leaders of the Bangsamoro people.
Sinarimbo’s MILG initiated and designed the SEAL Award and is aimed at contributing to the establishment of moral governance in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.”
“Moral governance” has been the working motto and advocacy of the Bangsamoro government under the leadership of Chief Minister Ahod Balawag “Al-Hajj Murad” Ebrahim.
In recent past, Ebrahim, chairman of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said “moral governance” is anchored on the virtues of Islam, hastening to add the MILF is not imposing an Islamic government.
He said transforming the culture of governance that is steeped in corruption to practicing moral governance takes time. “But we need to help each other to achieve our goal…supervise yourselves, all you do must be in accordance with moral governance, not only by word but by our actions.”
In practicing moral governance, the Chief Minister emphasized that is every Bangsamoro individual’s responsibility to himself and their neighbors.
Sinarimbo further explained the inner workings of the “Pagkilala” Awards for LGUs and local chief executives (LCEs).
“We honor performing LGUs which truly pioneered innovative and exemplary services to our constituents; we do not have to reinvent the will. The dream of your new regional government is to see the LGUs optimizing their performance and our constituent enjoying the good and moral governance in the region,” the interior minister pointed out.
“Pagkilala” Awards honors and recognizes outstanding LGUs and LCEs in BARMM
“The key to quickening the face of development and bringing this region into greater rise is to be able to complement our resources’ national share in the development, regional government and that of local government units,” Sinarimbo added.
The Bangsamoro region, established in 2018 by the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) to implement the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), is made up of the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, the cities of Cotabato, Lamitan, and Marawi, as well as the 63 barangays or villages dubbed Special Geographic Area (SGA) that voted “yes” in a plebiscite in February 2019 to be under the BARMM jurisdiction.
According to the Philippine Atlas has 4,404,288 people. It has 116 municipalities: Basilan, 11 municipalities; Lanao del Sur, 39; Maguindanao, 36; Sulu, 19; and Tawi-Tawi, 11. Its component cities are Cotabato (the regional center and capital) in Maguindanao; Lamitan in Basilan; and Marawi in Lanao del Sur.
SEAL is the highest recognition and the most prestigious award given by the Bangsamoro government to leaders with an outstanding delivery of services that contribute to the establishment of a moral governance in the BARMM by popularizing the principle of volunteerism demonstrated by great Bangsamoro revolutionary leader Hashim and in honor of him.
For his feat, Insular took home the 2022 SEAL, a Php400,000.00 worth gold-plated medallion, and Php2,500,000.00 worth of local development project.
As designed, the MILG searches annually for LCEs who “have emulated and demonstrated accountable, participatory and service-oriented leadership which have verifiable impact.” (✓)