BANGSAMORO NEWS UPDATES

COTABATO CITY  – The Government made good its promise to compensate Marawi war victims with a reparation board that is truly independent, inclusive and led by women, the Marawi Reconstruction and Conflict Watch (MRCW) declared in a press statement today.

“Our hopes are renewed by the appointment of members in the Marawi Compensation Board who are really committed to an independent, inclusive, responsive, and gender-sensitive application of the law,” the MRCW said.

COTABATO CITY - The celebration of the 4^th founding anniversary of the Bangsamoro region was a showcase of the gains of self-governance under the now four-year autonomous regional government covering five provinces and three cities.

Observers, among them local executives in provinces outside of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, had, in fact, expressed oneness with BARMM government officials and their constituents in their anniversary festivities.

COTABATO CITY — Honoring the flamboyant cultural diversity on its 4th founding anniversary, the Government of the Day is showcasing and raising the level of appreciation and awareness of the rich cultural heritage of Moro ethnic groups from the Provinces of Lanao Del Sur, Maguindanao, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi. 

Being held at the Bangsamoro Government Center (BGC) here in this city, participating ministries and offices officially opened on Monday, Jan. 23, the several cultural booths representing their ethnic groups. 

COTABATO CITY -- Dozens of local government units in the Bangsamoro region received special awards Monday for high performance rating and efficient anti-narcotics campaign.

The activity, held here and jointly facilitated by Local Government Secretary Benjamin Abalos, Jr. and his counterpart in the region, Local Government Minister Naguib Sinarimbo, was among the highlights of the weeklong celebration of the fourth founding anniversary of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao that started Saturday and shall culminate on Friday.

COTABATO CITY - The best innovative practices of Bangsamoro local government units, as well as the highlights of accomplishments of Development Administration Committee member ministries, offices, and agencies during the first phase of transition, are now proudly featured in a Learning Expo and Photo Gallery Exhibit inside the Bangsamoro Government Center in Cotabato City.

ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is set to install a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy Class 1990 Bigkis-Lahi on today, as the new commander of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom).

The incoming Westmincom chief, Maj. Gen. Roy Galido, is the current commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division (6ID) based in Awang, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte.

Galido will replace his classmate, Maj. Gen. Arturo Rojas of the Philippine Marines, who was designated as the acting commander of Westmincom in October 2022.

COTABATO CITY --- Stakeholders took as a vote of confidence for the Bangsamoro government the expansion of the peace and development efforts of the European Union and the United Nations Children's Fund in the autonomous region.

Officials of the European Union, most known by the acronym EU, donated last Monday to the Bangsamoro Transition Authority two 24-seater air-conditioned coasters that its 80-members, comprising the regional parliament, can use.

COTABATO CITY  – One of the disadvantaged groups in the Bangsamoro communities have expressed their desire to join in decision-making in the political arena of Bangsamoro government.

In almost all development and emergency, humanitarian situations, the Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) are left out, their rights not properly protected and claimed.

PWDs wanted now a voice in the Bangsamoro parliament as the chamber are in the peak of ground consultative campaigns.

COTABATO CITY - As part of its continuous support to the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, the European Union, through the Support to Bangsamoro Transition (SUBATRA) handed over two coasters and LED wall to the Bangsamoro government this afternoon, January 16, in Cotabato City.

BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim, EU Ambassador to the Philippines Luc Véron, and Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU) and Department of National Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. led the turnover ceremony.

COTABATO CITY --- Stakeholders are expecting the approval within 2023 of separate proposals to create eight towns out of the 63 Bangsamoro barangays in Cotabato province in Region 12.

Residents of what is now known as the Special Geographic Area of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao voted in favor of the inclusion of their barangays into the proposed core territory of BARMM during a plebiscite in early 2019.