BTA approves Bill No. 46, defining the power of appointment in BARMM
Cotabato City (June 26, 2020)—The Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) approved a bill that will now define the power of appointment in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), during the parliament’s Second Regular Session held Thursday, June 25, 2020 in the city.
The BTA-Parliament Bill No. 46 entitled, “An act defining the power of appointment in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and for other purposes”, was authored by the Government of the Day, and underwent a rigorous period of interpellation and amendment among the members of the parliament.
The said bill was created “to ensure an effective and efficient organization by way of the selection and appointment of officials and personnel of the various ministries, offices, bureaus, boards, commissions, and agencies, in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.”
Fifty-five (55) voted yes, zero (0) voted no, while one abstained, after the third and final reading of the bill.
Amendments proposed by MPs Amilbahar Mawallil, Atty. Paisalin Tago, and Atty. Rasol Mitmug on the content of the said bill were later adopted by the august body.
MPs Atty. Maisara Dandamun-Latiph, Atty. Jose Lorena, Atty. Nabil Tan, Zesar Alil, Abraham Burahan, and Abdulmuhmin Mujahid sponsored an amendment to Section 4 but was not accepted by the majority. 16 voted yes, 41 voted no, and with 1 abstention.
The plenary also discussed Parliament Bill No. 55 or the Bangsamoro Budgeting Act which will opt to create a Bangsamoro Budget Office, once it will be enacted into a law. MP Atty. Ubaida Pacasem delivered a sponsorship speech on Thursday.
“The passage of this bill will give life to Section 28, Art. 7, of the BOL which mandates us, the parliament, to create a Bangsamoro Budget Office, which shall ensure that the form, content, and manner of the preparation of the Bangsamoro Budget Office is compliant with the law we enacted and consistent with the existing laws, rules, and regulations of the national governemnt,” Pacasem said.
Furthermore, Speaker of the House Atty. Pangalian Balindong spoke about the Anti-Terror Bill in a privilege speech.
“We know the nasty feeling when the government avoids dealing with us then and so we can only sympathize with those who remain in the fringes and fighting for what they think is right. And don’t get me wrong, there is no reason for us not to hear them and even commiserate with them,” he said.
“On the other hand, it is also our duty to give them a more objective perspective, especially now that we are one with the government in ensuring a good life for our people,” Balindong noted.
On separate privilege speeches, MP Dr. Saffrullah Dipatuan, who also sits as the BARMM’s Health Minister, reported the current situation of Bangsamoro Government’s actions against the Coronavirus Disease (Covdi-19) pandemic, while MP Mohagher Iqbal, the Education Minister, stood firm on upholding the law amidst the two cease and desist memoranda orders addressed to provisional teachers and temporary employees.
“Being like a father to my employees, I am the first one who got affected by these Memoranda,” Iqbal noted, adding he even encountered sleepless nights and appetite loss caused by the termination issue.
“I know how lamentable their situation is. Some of them are in their senior years while others are struggling hard to make both ends meet, but we have to uphold the law,” he added. (Bureau of Public Information)
*Originally published by the Bangsamoro Information Office (https://bangsamoro.gov.ph/news/latest-news/bta-approves-bill-no-46-defining-the-power-of-appointment-in-barmm/)
BARMM solons file resolution supporting BP2 program
COTABATO CITY – Members of the minority bloc of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) filed a resolution on Thursday expressing the full support of the regional law-making body for the national government’s “Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-asa” (BP2) program.
The BTA minority bloc expressed its support for BP2 before the resumption of the Bangsamoro parliament session on June 16. The legislative body earlier suspended its sessions for the month-long fasting period of Ramadan that commenced on April 24.
“In anticipation of the people returning to Bangsamoro region areas under the BP2, a concrete development framework plan should be formulated by the Bangsamoro government in cooperation with the parliament,” the minority bloc said.
The group pointed out that the BP2 program is consistent with Section 7, Article IV of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, which provides that the Bangsamoro government “shall ensure that every Filipino citizen in its territorial jurisdiction shall be provided with basic necessities and equal opportunities in life.”
With BARMM in place as established in the Bangsamoro Organic Law, as well as its vast resources and potential, the bloc said the Moro people living in the National Capital Region and urban areas may opt to return to the Bangsamoro region.
On May 6, President Rodrigo Duterte issued Executive Order 114 institutionalizing the program to decongest Metro Manila amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic and for balanced regional development.
The program framework is divided into four key areas – empowerment of local industries; food security and agricultural productivity; social welfare, health, and employment; and the development of infrastructure.
The members of the BTA’s minority bloc include engineers Baintan Adil-Ampatuan and Don Loong; lawyers Laisa Alamia, Suharto “Teng” Ambolodto, and Rasul Mitmug Jr.; and opinion writer Amir Mawallil. (PNA)
*Originally published on Philippine News Agency (https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1104996)
BTA Parliament extends rice assistance to Lanao constituents
COTABATO CITY — Members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) Parliament in the province of Lanao del Sur has started the distribution of rice assistance from the Office of the Chief Minister to its needy constituents affected by the Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) global pandemic crisis.
Member of the Parliament (MP) Marjanie Macasalong led the Ranao Region team (Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur) together with other 21 BTA members, Deputy Chief Minister Ali B. Solaiman, Mohammad Zainoden P. Bato, Said M. Shiek, Dr. Safrullah M. Dipatuan, Basit S. Abbas (Commander Jannati), Abdullah G. Macapaar (Commander Bravo), Marjanie S. Macasalong, Punduma B. Sani, Musa K. Diamla, Jamel D. Macaraya, Modayao M. Sacar, Sultan Edrieza Nasser H. Rimbang, Paisalin P. Tago, Nabila Margarita P. Pangandaman, Atty. Maisara C. Damdamun-Latiph, Atty. Hamid Aminoddin Barra, Atty. Anna Tarhata S. Basman, Rasul Mitmug Jr., Ziaur Rahman A. Adiong, Diamila D. Ramos and Speaker Ali Pangalian M. Balindong.
At present, Macasalong said they were able to serve nineteen (19) towns from both Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur provinces.
“We are giving 10 kilos of rice per family,” Macasalong said.
To date, the breakdown of rice assistance given per household in different municipalities are as follows: Marawi City – 5,000; Marantao – 2,000; Maguing – 300, Malabang – 500; Kapatagan – 100, Taraka – 2000, Ditsaan-Ramain – 200; Bubong – 1000, Balindong – 800; Poona Bayabao – 500, Masiu – 2000; Balabagan 200; Lumbayanague – 1500, Lumba Bayabao – 500, Piyagapo – 1000; Balo-i – 1500; Bayang – 300; Sultan Dumalundong 800 and Butig – 1000.
Macasalong stressed that the team is now on their third wave of relief distribution.
“Our time frame to finish with the distribution in the whole province would be at least by the end of July 2020,” Macasalong said.
Further, Macasalong shared the positive feedbacks of the different local government units from the two provinces.
“The local governments here were very grateful of our efforts and we would also like to thank them in return for appreciating all our hard works. To our populace, we have tried and did our best to maximize our resources both goods and manpower to provide for every member of Bangsamoro within our reach. Let us help one another get through this crisis and together, InshaAllah, we shall rise against this pandemic,” Macasalong emphasized.
In a separate event, Speaker Balindong has also extended rice assistance to at least 3,000 households in the town of Malabang.
Balindong said a total of three hundred (300) sacks of rice were subdivided to at least twenty-seven (27) barangays of Malabang thru Liga Ng Mga Barangay President and Barangay Bacayawan Chair Norodin B. Marohom.
These are the barangays of Curahab, Banday, Chinatown, Campo Muslim, Bunkhouse, Pasir, Matling Airport, Mananayo, Pialot, Mable, Tambara, Jose Abad Santos, Sembagarogong, Montay, Tacub, Tiongcop, Calibagat, Macaurandig, Inandayan, Matampay, Masao, Calumbog, Cabasaran, Badak Lumao, BPS Village, Boniga and Bacayawan.
In an earlier statement, Ebrahim said the rice distribution is on top of the ongoing initiatives of the Bangsamoro Government to address the needs of the populace during this crisis.
“It will be distributed to the affected residents of BARMM, especially those who reside in the far-flung areas and provinces each of the (BTA members) represent,” Ebrahim said. (GALao, BTA Parliament)
*Originally published by the BTA-Publication and Media Relations Division (https://parliament.bangsamoro.gov.ph/latest-news/bta-parliament-extends-rice-assistance-to-lanao-constituents/)
BTA to distribute 16K bags of rice to crisis-stricken residents
COTABATO CITY – The 80-member Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), the lawmaking body of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), is set to distribute 16,000 bags of rice to needy constituents affected by the economic slowdown due to 2019 coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic.
BARMM chief minister Ahod “Murad” Ebrahim said the regional government has already placed the purchase order for the 16,000 bags of rice that will be equally divided to each member of the Bangsamoro parliament.
“These will be distributed to affected residents of BARMM, especially those who reside in the far-flung areas and provinces each of the (BTA members) represent,” Ebrahim said late Saturday.
He added that as soon as the rice supply arrives, each of the 80 members of the BTA Parliament will be allocated with 200 bags of the commodity.
“The rice subsidy would be a big help to reach out to the poor constituents of our region who are victims of the present crisis,” BTA secretary-general Raby Angkal said.
Meanwhile, seven members of the BTA minority bloc also moved to donate their two-month salary for residents affected by the Covid-19 crisis.
Lawyer Laisa Alamia, BTA minority floor leader, said the initiative targets to continue the relief efforts which they have started last month.
“This crisis has severely affected people’s livelihoods in the Bangsamoro Region, and many of those affected would go hungry without help,” Alamia said.
Recently, more than 2,000 families have benefited from relief operations conducted by the group.
The recipients include residents of selected poor barangays, as well as the patients and staff of the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center in Cotabato City, the Cotabato Sanitarium Hospital in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, Muslim communities, and Madaris teachers in Zamboanga City.
Alamia said residents of the port area of Sitangkai town in the province of Tawi-Tawi, and villagers in the town of Akbar in Basilan province also received relief packs.
“Cash assistance was also distributed to dozens of Bangsamoro daily wage-earners who lost their livelihood due to the pandemic, as well as BARMM residents stranded in different places in the country”, Alamia said.
The minority bloc has also begun procuring some 700 sets of personal protective equipment (PPE), decontamination tents, and thousands of masks intended for front-line medical workers across the region.
Together with Alamia at the minority bloc are engineers Don Loong, and Baintan Ampatuan; lawyers Rasol Mitmug Jr., and Teng Ambolodto; former local government executive Rasul Ismael; and youth leader and former journalist Amir Mawallil. Currently, the BTA is in recess and will resume its regular session in June. (PNA)
*Originally published on Philippine News Agency (https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1101012)