ISTANBUL
According to the top official of the Philippines’ southern autonomous region, Bangsamoro, a lack of funds has become a barrier to full normalization.
In an interview with Anadolu Agency, Murad Ebrahim, the chief minister of Bangsamoro, said that despite the agreement to compensate decommissioned combatants, “unfortunately (we) have not received the amount (for the first and second phases of the decommissioning process) as promised by the government.”
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) launched a decades-long insurgency in 2018, which resulted in peace talks with the Philippine government and the formation of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The Bangsamoro Transitional Authority (BTA), led by Ebrahim, who was elected as the first chief minister in February 2019, governs the region.
The transitional authority’s mandate was set to expire this year, but the Philippines government extended it until 2025 to give Ebrahim and his team enough time to complete all of their goals, including decommissioning former MILF fighters.
According to Ebrahim, 14,000 MILF fighters have surrendered their weapons so far, with the national government promising to pay each of them 1 million pesos (roughly $19,000).
“The national government does not have a budget for this purpose.” In the normalization track, this is a real challenge… “(We) are unable to move due to a lack of government funding,” he says.
He claimed that the decommissioned combatants had received only around 100,000 pesos, and that the “economic foundation” that was supposed to oversee the compensation process had yet to be established.
Aside from the money, “other components such as livelihood programs, housing, training, and child scholarships” have yet to be delivered, according to Ebrahim.
“This is why the third phase has been pushed back… “Before we move forward with the third phase of decommissioning, we demand that the government fulfill its commitments,” he said.
Transition that is’smooth’
The transitional authority’s operation has been “quite smooth,” according to Ebrahim.
Three of the six codes laying the foundations for the region’s formal administrative and bureaucratic structure, he said, have been finalized: the Bangsamoro Administrative Code, the Bangsamoro Civil Service Code, and the Bangsamoro Administrative Code.
He explained, “These are among the six codes that should be passed during the transition period.”
He said the Local Government Code has “already been submitted to parliament and is now at the committee level” of the other three.
“After several revisions, the Electoral Code will be scheduled for Cabinet discussion.” On the other hand, the Draft Revenue Code will be finished this year,” he added.
All of Ebrahim’s administration’s programs and projects are “ongoing,” he said.
“Almost every municipality in the Bangsamoro region has its own infrastructure projects and programs,” he said.
“We are confident that we will be able to complete all… that we need to accomplish during this extended transition period,” he said.