Featured image above shows BTA Speaker Ustadhz Mohammad S. Yacob, (left) shaking hands with OPAPRU Secretary Carlito G. Galvez, Jr. after their meeting. (Credit for image: Office of the BTA Speaker)
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MANILA, January 6, 2016 (SDN) — It’s been nearly seven years since the transition phase of the Bangsamoro region started on March 29, 2019, from the now-defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
The kickoff date was when the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) Parliament conducted its inaugural session in the wake of the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) via a two-part plebiscite on January 19 and February 5, 2019.
Obviously, the first of the initially three- year transition was to fully prepare for governance the then-newly created Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) which owes its existence to the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).
During the transition stage which has now stretch to nearly seven years after the first inaugural parliamentary political exercise was postponed twice, BARMM is being governed by the BTA as the Government of the Day until regular Bangsamoro members of the Parliament (MPs) shall have been elected.
More work has to be done, apparently, in the transition period, that’s why Parliament Speaker Ustadhz Mohammad S. Yacob had a meeting today, Tuesday, with Secretary Carlito G. Galvez, Jr., head of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU).
SDN — SciTech & Digital News learned about this from a social media report of the BTA speaker’s page.
The report cited the significance of the two officials’ meeting which was “to discuss ongoing peace and transition initiatives” in the Bangsamoro region.
Minus Sulu, the BARMM is comprised of the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, and Tawi-Tawi; the cities of Cotabato, Lamitan, and Marawi; and the Special Geographic Area (SGA) made of eight new municipalities.
“The meeting focused on enhancing coordination between the national government and Bangsamoro institutions to ensure effective implementation of development programs, sustain peace, and support the region’s political transition,” the speaker’s social media page pointed out.
In relation with this, he “reaffirmed the Bangsamoro Parliament’s commitment to finalize the districting law, noting that its passage is a vital step toward the conduct of the first Bangsamoro parliamentary elections and the completion of the political transition.”
Galvez, a former chief of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) during the administration of former President Rodrigo R. Duterte, and Yacob discussed further the exploring of initiatives in support of former combatants of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as well as their families by providing education and capacity-buildinc programs, continuing previous efforts aimed at empowering local communities.
Both the Offices of Speaker Yacob and Secretary Galvez agreed on the need for their continued collaboration to promote stability, unity, and inclusive development across the region.
Assistant Secretary Jordan S. Bayam, executive director of the Office for the Bangsamoro Transformation Cluster (OPAPRU-OBTC), and Wendell P. Orbeso, director of the MILF Peace Process Office, were present in the meeting at office of the presidential peace adviser. EDD K. Usman (√)