The chief minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has called on fellow members at the regional parliament to fast-track the enactment of two significant bills that will help further stabilize governance and development in the area.

Speaking before the 80-member Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) session on Tuesday afternoon, Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim urged parliament members to expedite the enactment of bills creating the towns in the region’s Special Geographic Area (SGA) in North Cotabato.

Ebrahim also urged them to pass the Bangsamoro Local Governance Code (BLGC).

Residents in 63 villages in North Cotabato who opted to join BARMM during a two-part plebiscite in 2019 have been clamoring for the constitution of local governments that will officially identify them with the regional government, he said.

In last year’s local elections, more than 200,000 voters in 63 villages were not allowed to vote for local officials after the poll body ruled they could only elect national candidates.

Ebrahim said the bill creating the municipalities in SGA is important in filling the gaps that were observed since the 2019 plebiscite.

“While at the onset, the Bangsamoro government included these barangays in the implementation of its various programs and projects, there are gaps in governance that can only be addressed through the creation of municipalities from the SGA,” Ebrahim told parliament members.

Bills are pending before the BTA proposing the creation of the municipalities of Pahamudin, Kadayangan, Kabalukan, Northern Kabacan, Kapalawan, Malmar, Tugunan and Ligawasan.

The proposed new towns comprise the 63 BARMM villages in the municipalities of Midsayap, Pikit, Aleosan, Pigcawayan, Kabacan and Carmen in North Cotabato.

The bills indicate that these villages would be separated from their mother towns and constituted into distinct and independent municipalities.

“These areas are not only special because of their location but also because, along with Cotabato City, these are the new or expanded areas of the BARMM, granted that we take the territory of the (defunct) Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao RMM as our baseline,” Ebrahim said.

Local government code

Ebrahim also said the passage of the proposed local government code will clear gray areas in the relationships between the regional government and its local government units.

Filed in September last year, the BLGC bill would be the fifth priority legislation of the current BTA.

“The faster we enact these priority legislations, the better it is for our people, as it would give ample time for understanding the nuances and implications of these laws in their everyday lives,” Ebrahim said.

In response, BTA Speaker Pangalian Balindong said the parliament understands the chief minister’s desire to further improve moral governance for the benefit of the Bangsamoro people.

He also emphasized the importance of cooperation among all stakeholders in ensuring the success of the remaining two years of the transition period. (PNA)