COTABATO CITY — The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and the delegation of the European Union to the Philippines launched the five-year P1.5-billion Support to Bangsamoro Transition (SUBATRA) Programme, today, November 15.

SUBATRA aims to help BARMM during the transition period in laying the foundation for lasting peace and development in the region by strengthening its institutions’ democratic governance capacities.

The Bangsamoro transition period includes the passage of priority legislation and the establishment of a BARMM bureaucracy to ensure that basic services are delivered without delay.

The SUBATRA supports the BARMM executive, parliament, judiciary, and civil society in strengthening its capacities to drive and coordinate key transitional policies, exercise lawmaking, and oversight functions, adjudicate litigations, improve access to justice, and contribute to a peaceful transition.

“Today’s formal launch is a milestone for the interim government because it solidifies our partnership to expedite and strengthen the transition mechanism for the new Bangsamoro political entity,” said Bangsamoro Parliament Speaker Atty. Pangalian Balindong.

EU Ambassador Luc Véron emphasized the EU’s commitment to supporting the Bangsamoro in achieving lasting peace and development.

Ambassador Véron noted that the Bangsamoro transition period is a timely opportunity for stakeholders in the BARMM to heed the lessons of the past and journey towards a bright future for the region, “leaving no one behind.”

For his part, BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim said SUBATRA helps BARMM provide regulatory standards while taking a facilitative and risk-proportionate approach in all levels of its new bureaucracy.

“SUBATRA helps boost the capacity of our regional government in crafting transitional policies and strengthening our Parliament’s ability to exercise its legislative, oversight, and representation functions during this transition period,” he said.

The SUBATRA Programme is co-funded by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development. It started in July 2020 and will end in June 2025.

The United Nations Office for Project Services, the Bangsamoro Development Agency, and the Consortium of the Bangsamoro Civil Society are the implementing partners of the SUBATRA Programme. (Public Information, Publication, and Media Relations Division)