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COTABATO CITY, December 13, 2025 — After an intense four days of hearing at the Bangsamoro Parliament, the regional law makers have indicated support for the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE) as they deliberated the MBHTE’s proposed Php32.651-billion budget for Fiscal Year 2026.
Headed by Education Minister and Member of the Parliament (MP) Mohagher M. Iqbal, the MBHTE budget allocation aims to further strengthen its top priorities in the Bangsamoro education sector as reported in an update by the Bangsamoro Media Network (BMN), quoting Bangsamoro Today on social media.
Thanks to support from the parliamentarians, the MBHTE successfully closed its budget hearing as the regional legislative body tackled proposals of the rest of the Bangsamoro ministries and other offices.
The 2018 Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) established the BARMM in January 2019 to implement the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).
Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, and Tawi-Tawi provicnes; Cotabato, Lamitan, and Marawi cities; as well as the Special Geographic Area (SGA) with eight new municipalities comprised the Bangsamoro region.
The MBHTE is the BARMM government’s biggest organ of governance with more than 60 employees, over 22,000 of them made up of teaching personnel.
Hearings were conducted by the Parliament’s Sub-Committee D of the Committee on Finance, Budget and Management (CFBM) as part of the Bangsamoro government’s continuing efforts to foster transparent, inclusive, accountable governance of public funds.
In the MBHTE’s presentation, it clarified its top priorities for its FY 2026 budget, covering implementation of school-based management, enhancing a higher level of technical education, more progressive madaris educational institutions, inclusive education, and programs aimed at directly raising the quality of learning of the Bangsamoro students.
After the exhaustive discussion on the MBHTE proposal, the Bangsamoro Parliament suggested some recommendations to be submitted to the “mother” committee for a more thorough study for possible final approval.
MBHTE reaffirms focus on no Bangsamoro learner shall be left behind
The MBHTE voiced full support for the process of deliberation in the Parliament in spite of the possible changes in its budget proposal even as it assured it’s budget can help continue implementing reforms, expanding access to education, and complying with its mandate to provide quality and inclusive education for all the Bangsamoro communities.
At the head of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) Parliament is the speaker, which presently is MP Ustadhz Mohammad S. Yacob. He was former minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR), and later BARMM senior minister.
The MBHTE voiced full support for the process of deliberation in the Parliament in spite of the possible changes in its budget proposal even as it assured it’s budget can help continue implementing reforms, expanding access to education, and complying with its mandate to provide quality and inclusive education for all the Bangsamoro communities.
Included in the Parliament’s recommendation is for the education ministry to give priority to addressing barangays which have no school facilities by providing these communities. And eventually making every Bangsamoro barangays have their own schools for accessible to students in elementary, secondary, and tertiary levels.
It was learned from the Parliament that the BARMM has previously around 210 barangays known as “underserved or school-less”. Of the total, 150 of the villages now have their learning centers making education accessible to children in the far-flung areas.
MBHTE’s budget proposal for next year is focused on funding for basic, higher, technical and madaris education and Asatidz education programs, as well as provisions for scholarships, school sports, and TVET (technical and vocational education and training).
Among many other initiatives of the MBHTE, nearly 10,000 trainees benefited from its Bangsamoro Scholarship Program for TVET, as well as being able to already deploy 5,959 Asatidz to serve communities’ educational needs.
As the public hearing concluded, Iqbal’s MBHTE reaffirmed it’s pledge of strengthening the region’s system of education to ensure that no Bangsamoro learner is left behind.
The MBHTE has been putting in place various reforms in the BARMM education sector covering, among others, hiring thousands of teaching and non-teaching personnel, constructing new school buildings, or renovating old ones, distribution of education-related equipment such as computers, printers, Teacher’s Kits, Learner’s Kits, and many others. — EDD K. Usman (©)