COTABATO CITY – Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. reaffirmed his support for extending the Bangsamoro government’s term until 2025.
“We are pleased to note that this is also the same position of the other members of President Duterte’s cabinet who have thrown their full support behind the BARMM’s extension,” Galvez said in a hybrid hearing of the Senate Committee on Local Government.
The hearing presided by Senator Francis Tolentino, chair of the said committee, discussed Senate Bill Nos. 2019 and 2025, seeking to amend the organic law for the Bangsamoro region and postpone the first parliamentary elections from 2022 to 2025.
The BARMM, according to Galvez, is only in its “infancy stage”, as the Moro Islamic Liberation Front just took over the reins of government only two years ago.
Secretary Galvez said that a three-year extension would enable the Bangsamoro government to fulfil its mandate and provide a greater sense of stability and security in the region.
“We believe that the three-year transition period is still not enough to accomplish what it had set out to do,” he added.
The Bangsamoro government needs more time to lay the foundation for an inclusive, people-centred, and accountable bureaucracy, according to Galvez.
BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim, explained in the previous parliament session that the peace process between the government and the MILF covered two tracks: governance and normalization, which covered the establishing of the Bangsamoro government and its structure, decommissioning the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces, dismantling private armies, and setting up a regional police force.
Galvez said that the implementation of these interventions is a joint responsibility of the national and BARMM governments.
The Bangsamoro Parliament passed a resolution in November last year urging Congress to extend the transition period to give the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) enough time to complete its mandate.
During the three-year transition period, the BTA is serving as the Bangsamoro region’s interim government.
The Administrative Code and the Civil Service Code are the two priority codes that the Bangsamoro Parliament has passed so far. Local government and education codes advanced to second reading and are now referred to appropriate committees for final deliberation
Other priority bills such as electoral, revenue, and Indigenous Peoples have yet to be filed.
A total of 17 bills and 122 resolutions were also approved, while approximately 100 bills and 430 resolutions were filed before the parliament. (Publication and Media Relations Division, BTA)