BARMM transition extension supporters Orlando Cardinal Quevedo (left) and North Cotabato Governor Nancy Catamco (right). (Photos courtesy of Governor Catamco's office and CBCP’s FB page)
COTABATO CITY – Peace advocacy group, Save Sulu Movement (SSM), has joined the calls for extending the three-year transition period of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The Bangsamoro Organic Law sets the transition phase of the region in 2022, but regional leaders and various sectors are pushing to extend it up to 2025 due to the disruptions brought by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.
In a statement Monday, SSM argued that BTA's three-year term is "insufficient to implement institutional reforms that will truly weed out systematic problems of corruption, injustice and grinding poverty that plagued the Bangsamoro homeland”.
Earlier, North Cotabato Governor Nancy A. Catamco and Catholic church leader Orlando Cardinal Quevedo, OMI, DD also issued separate statements supporting the extension of another three years for the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), claiming three years were not enough for it to be able to complete its mandate.
Meanwhile, SSM underscored the BTA's importance, noting the quick response of the BARMM government in delivering basic services in Sulu.,
In particular, it cited the regional government's assistance to the fire victims at the Chinese pier, and the medical aid to the victims of a bombing incident, both in the capital town of Jolo, in February and September last year.
The group also lauded BARMM’s "exemplary response" to address the coronavirus pandemic by regularly distributing foods, safety kits, and medical supplies to its province-components.
“For the Covid-19 pandemic response alone, the region’s MSSD (Ministry of Social Services and Development) was able to release emergency cash assistance to 111,453 beneficiaries with social workers braving conflict-ridden and critical areas to be able to reach out to the most remote communities including island municipalities,” SSM said.
It added: “It has also released financial support of PHP3-million to IPHO (Integrated Provincial Health Office) Sulu, PHP5-million to the provincial government, and PHP1-million to each of the 18 municipalities."
Catamco, on the other hand, said her support for the BTA term extension was anchored on the welfare of the people in the 63 villages in the province that voted to join the Bangsamoro region.
“Nobody wants the Mindanao peace process to fail; North Cotabato wants it to succeed because everybody will benefit from the dividends it will bring,” she said. “The BARMM leadership should be given ample time to fulfill its enormous tasks of improving the lives of its people, address historical injustices, and show to the world that peace is feasible and attainable in Mindanao."
Quevedo, for his part, the Covid-19 pandemic "has made it impossible for the BTA to have regular face-to-face sessions."
"Security issues posed by radical armed groups prevent freedom of travel for BTA officials to perform their tasks. The constraints of time are simply insurmountable,” he said.
Last week, local chief executives in Lanao del Sur province also expressed their support for extending the transition period. (PNA)
