BTA holds simultaneous public consultations on Bangsamoro Governance Code in Maguindanao

MAGUINDANAO ― In an effort to involve all constituencies in the Bangsamoro region, the Bangsamoro Parliament’s Committee on Local Government held simultaneous public consultations in Maguindanao del Sur and del Norte on the proposed Local Governance Code.

“The consultation will help us in the Parliament enhance the proposed Bangsamoro Local Governance Code,” said Deputy Floor Leader and Committee on Local Government Chair Atty. Raissa Jajurie on the consultations conducted in Guindulungan, Maguindanao del Sur, and Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte today, January 20.

Hundreds of stakeholders from provincial, municipal, and barangay local government units, non-government organizations, and civil society groups attended the consultations.

Among the prevalent concerns raised were the educational attainment and qualifications of running elective officials and anti-political dynasties.

The BLGC introduced qualifications and disqualifications for elective officials based on the proposed code.

According to BTA Bill No. 30, all elective officials for the province, city, and municipality must have reached at least college level; the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan chair must have reached junior high school; and Sangguniang Kabataan members must have reached elementary level.

The code applies to all constituent provinces, cities, municipalities, barangays, and other political subdivisions, as well as officials, offices, or agencies of the Bangsamoro government. of Health, which will also determine and approve its organizational structure and plantilla positions.

It will provide a clear direction between the local government units and the Bangsamoro government.

The Bangsamoro Local Government Code was introduced in the first Parliament as the Bangsamoro Local Government Code, but it was later renamed “Bangsamoro Local Governance Code” to highlight citizen participation.

Atty. Jajurie also emphasized the importance of passing the BLGC, which establishes the powers, functions, and responsibilities of the constituent local government units, noting that, unlike other regions in the country, the BARMM has its own government.

The BLGC is among the priority codes the Bangsamoro Transition Authority must enact during the transition period.

Atty. Jajurie said that the Parliament aims to pass the proposed code within the first quarter of the year.

The committee will hold another round of public consultations in Cotabato City, Lanao del Sur, and the BARMM Special Geographic Area in February.

The first leg of public consultations for the BLGC was held in the region’s island provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi in December last year.

Another measure is also pushing for the upgrade of a municipal hospital in Tawi-Tawi.

The Datu Alawaddin T. Bandon Sr. Municipal Hospital, which currently has 10 beds, will be upgraded into a level II general hospital with 50 beds.

Once approved, the Datu Alawaddin T. Bandon Sr. Municipal Hospital, originally located in Sitangkai, will be established in Sibutu.

Other legislators also introduced bills for the establishment of general hospitals in Basilan.

Under the administrative and technical supervision of the Basilan Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO), a level 1 general hospital with 25 beds will be established in Tabuan-Lasa, Basilan, as proposed under PB No. 103.

Another proposed measure, PB No. 104, calls for the establishment of a level 1 general hospital with 25 beds in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan.

MP Amilbahar Mawallil, one of the main authors of PB Nos. 103 and 104, said that the bills aim to give people access to health care services that are adequate, excellent, and effective.

Based on PB Nos. 103 and 104, the MOH will formulate the necessary guidelines and other complementary infrastructure, facilities, and medical equipment, as well as the costs for the necessary maintenance and personnel services.

MPs Hatimil Hassan, Muslimin Jakilan, and Atty. Laisa Alamia are also the principal authors of the said bills.

Ampatuan files bills for Bangsamoro minors, development projects, establishment of annex Bangsamoro Government Center

COTABATO CITY —

Legislative measures promoting the safety and welfare of the Bangsamoro minors, requiring the mandatory social preparation of development projects, and authorizing the establishment of an annex Bangsamoro Government Center were filed in the Bangsamoro Parliament.

Engr. Baintan AdilAmpatuan filed BTA Bill No. 94, which seeks to promote the safety and welfare of Bangsamoro minors by establishing general guidelines for curfew implementation in the region.

According to Ampatuan, it is important to limit minors’ movement, particularly at night, in order to safeguard them from harmful situations like violence, exploitation, abuse, cruelty, and neglect.

Minors will be subject to a curfew from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., which prevents them from loitering, wandering, staying, meandering, or being in public locations during curfew hours.

It also prohibits parents and guardians from allowing their children to be on the streets during designated curfew hours.

Minors are only permitted to go out beyond curfew hours if they: are accompanied by or have written authorization from their parents, guardians, or the proper authorities to run errands; are attending graduation ceremonies, religious activities, and extracurricular school activities; are in emergency situations such as conflagrations, earthquakes, hospitalization, road accidents, law enforcement encounters, and other similar incidents; are going or returning home from work; are in any mode of transportation accompanied by an adult; and can present papers certifying that the minor is a working student.

Ampatuan also introduced legislation requiring the mandatory social preparation of regional development initiatives.

It is explained in BTA Bill No. 95 that social preparation entails conducting a social analysis of the community in which organizers engage in institutional preparations, area selection, and social investigation or integration.

Ampatuan also intends to create an annex of the Bangsamoro Government Center in its proposed bill.

The current center has become overcrowded as new offices, ministries, and organizations have been established, she claims.

She said that there is a need for an annex center to decongest and unclog the current center.

MIDSAYAP, NORTH COTABATO — In a recently concluded public consultation for the Bangsamoro Electoral Code here today, Bangsamoro Parliament Floor Leader Atty. Sha Elijah DumamaAlba remarked that the BARMM Special Geographic Area came into full force.

The said consultation was participated by 63 barangays under the BARMM SGA as well as other Members of the Parliament.

All clusters are wellrepresented, according to Floor Leader Atty. Dumama-Alba, with representatives from local and barangay government units, as well as government agencies, non-governmental organizations, civil society organizations, and other relevant stakeholders.

Midsayap Mayor Rolando Sacdalan has expressed support for the proposed priority code and hopes for the bill’s immediate passage.

Sacdalan added that he is confident that those barangays under the BARMM SGA that joined the Bangsamoro region are well taken care of, adding that the Bangsamoro

Organic Law is a reflection of the aspirations of the Bangsamoro people.

Representing the youth sector, Nurolhidaya Mentoc, president of the Active Youth Alliance, also supported the proposed code and provided some proposals to the BEC.

Meanwhile, Ferdaussee Ali, the legal officer of the MBHTE-Schools Division Office of the SGA, raised concerns about the compensation and security of teachers during the election.

The BARMM SGA is composed of 63 villages from the towns of Midsayap, Aleosan, Carmen, Kabacan, Pikit, and Pigcawayan.

As proposed under Parliament Bill No. 29, also known as the Bangsamoro Electoral Code of 2022, the BEC will design the structural, functional, and procedural principles for the election of officers within the region in 2025.

The Bangsamoro Electoral Code is among the priority codes of the Bangsamoro Parliament that must be enacted within the transition period, along with administrative, education, civil service, local governance, revenue, and indigenous people codes.

The Administrative, Education, and Civil Service Codes are the three priority codes already passed into law during the first Parliament.

The Committee on Rules, chaired by Floor Leader Atty. Dumama-Alba, will hold another round of public consultations in the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Sur, and Del Norte in the following weeks.

THREE resolutions were adopted on Wednesday’s regular session of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, presided over by Deputy Speaker Atty. Omar Yasser Sema.

The Bangsamoro Parliament commends four Bangsamoro young professionals who placed first in the recently concluded December 2022 X-ray Technologist Licensure Examination as well as Abdul Baterbonia Lumanggal for placing in the top 10 in the October 2022

Licensure Examination for Teachers at the elementary level.

They also urged the Ministry of Transportation and Communications to require airport announcements in the region to be delivered in local languages other than English and Filipino. Meanwhile, MP Romeo Sema delivered his sponsorship speech on Parliament Bill No. 59 or the Bangsamoro Labor and Employment Code of 2022.