“We are proud of the progress that the BARMM has taken. It will be self-governing, progressive, and effective.”
— President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.
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By EDD K. USMAN | Twitter: @edd1819 | Instagram: @bluestar0910 | Facebook: SDN — SciTech and Digital News
(SDN) — President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. delivered his Second State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 24, during which he also expressed pride for the progress the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) is on.
At the same time, the Chief Executive voiced continued support for the Bangsamoro region.
In his 70 minutes SONA speech before a joint session of Congress at the House of Representatives, Batasang Pambansa Complex, Quezon City, Metro Manila, the President cited the role that achieving peace in the Mindanao plays in the country’s overall progress.
“We are proud of the progress that the BARMM has taken. It will be self-governing, progressive, and effective,” the Chief Executive acknowledges.
“Through the BARMM, we have strengthened the nation’s prospects for finally achieving sustainable progress anchored on a true and lasting peace in Southern Philippines. We will continue to support the progress of the BARMM, apace with our singular vision for all Filipinos,” Marcos assures.
Among the many dignitaries invited to the SONA included Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chairman Ahod Balawag “Al-Hajj Murad” Ebrahim, who is the Chief Minister of the BARMM.
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 in North Cotabato dubbed Special Geographic Area (SGA) after voting “yes” in a plebiscite in February 2019 to be under the BARMM jurisdiction.
According to the Philippine Atlas BARMM has 4,404,288 people. It has 116 municipalities: Basilan, 11 municipalities; Lanao del Sur, 39; undivided 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.
Lawyer and Interior Minister Naguib G. Sinarimbo, among other BARMM officials, welcomed the President’s statement on BARMM.
“We are elated to hear the President taking pride in the progress made in the BARMM. We will even exert more effort to bring peace and prosperity to the Bangsamoro and contribute to the overall development of the country,” says Sinarimbo, the spokesman of the Bangsamoro government. He heads the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILG).
President cites national government partnership with BARMM
Presently, the BARMM is being governed on a transition stage by the MILF through the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), of which Ebrahim is the head as Chief Minister. The BTA started its three years of governance in 2019, then extended to another three years by then President Rodrigo R. Duterte until 2025.
The transition lays the foundation for the regular BARMM government when its first batch of elected officials shall have been appointed, possibly in the May 2023 national and local elections as stated in the law the extended the BTA’s life.
Since its inception under Ebrahim’s leadership anchored on what he dubbed Moral Governance, the BARMM continues its march to achieve peace and economic progress. This was not lost on the President.