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COTABATO CITY — Good news!
Sulu-based Bangsamoro employees numbering 5,733 will be able to receive their salaries for the duration of 2024 even after the Supreme Court removed the island province from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Bangsamoro Spokesperson Mohammad Asnin K. Pendatun made this clear on Thursday, September 19, saying the employees will continue receiving their salaries for 2024, subject to the completion of required documentation,
“We received the official copy of the Supreme Court (SC) decision on September 16, which, in effect, sets the cutoff as to the appreciation of such ruling,” Pendatun, who is also the Cabinet secretary of the Bangsamoro Government, said in an exclusive interview with the Bangsamoro Information Office (BIO).
Originally, 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 Special Geographic Area’s (SGA) 63 barangays or villages that voted “Yes” in a plebiscite in February 2019 to be under the BARMM jurisdiction. With the recent plebiscite at SGA, the BARMM now has eight new municipalities as residents voted “Yes”.
The High Court’s ruling cut Sulu from the regional autonomy, whose core territory was inherited from the now-defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), of which Sulu was one of the component provinces.
According to the Philippine Atlas, BARMM (then with Sulu) has 4,404,288 people. It has 116 municipalities (plus eight newly established under the SGA: 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.
On Sept. 9, the SC ruled that the Sulu province be severed from the Bangsamoro region as a result of the 2019 plebiscite, where the province cast 54% negative votes, equivalent to its non-inclusion in the autonomous region.
Under Section 18 Article X of the 1987 Constitution, only provinces, cities, and geographic areas voting favorably in a plebiscite, creating an autonomous region, shall be included in such region.
“We are looking into the general welfare of the Bangsamoro people in Sulu, leading to our recommendations that are mutually beneficial to all concerned,” he added.
According to the Spokesperson, permanent personnel will receive their salary “as usual”, covering Sept. 1-15 of the current fiscal year.
Legal Measures
However, starting Sept. 16 onward, both permanent and contract of service personnel (COSP) are required to comply with the signing of the Document of Undertaking, stating that in the event of disallowance, the received salary shall be returned to the government.
Pendatun further noted that the contracts of the COSP need to be binding specifically with the “regional” government.
Regarding unfilled positions, they will remain vacated unless otherwise ordered.
The Bangsamoro spokesperson stressed that the interim government is still “exploring” legal options, addressing the SC decision to preserve the gains of the Bangsamoro peace process pursuant to the CAB, the final peace accord between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which halted the latter’s decades-long armed struggle.
“If you observe, ‘on or before December 31’ is emphasized because we are not closing the possibility that prior to concluding 2024, a new issuance or legal measure will be available,” he shared. (✓) — (Johamin Inok/BIO)