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Bangsamoro 2021 budget must be aligned with 8-point dev't goals —chief minister Ebrahim
By DONA MAGSINO,GMA NewsThe 2021 budget of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) should be aligned with the development plan which was recently approved by the Bangsamoro Transition Authority Parliament, according to its chief minister Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim on Tuesday.
The Bangsamoro Development Plan 2020-2022, presented by Ebrahim at a budget forum, outlines the following development goals:
1. Establish the foundations for inclusive, transparent, accountable, and efficient governance;
3. Create a favorable enabling environment for inclusive and sustainable economic development;
4. Promote Bangsamoro identity, cultures, and diversity;
5. Ensure access to and delivery of quality services for human capital development;
6. Harness technology and innovations to increase socio-economic opportunities and improve government services;
7. Increase strategic and climate-resilient infrastructure to support sustainable socio-economic development in the Bangsamoro Region; and
8. Improve ecological integrity, and promote and enhance climate change adaptation, and disaster risk reduction to sustain resilience of communities in the Bangsamoro.
Policies and guidelines in crafting the various ministries' budget proposals were also discussed during the said forum.
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"We should plan our operations so that all our programs, projects, and activities are geared towards the gradual achievement of those eight development goals," said Ebrahim who also leads the Ministry of Finance, and Budget and Management (MFBM).
He added that the BARMM has also adopted the cash budgeting system and the consolidation of all the regional government's funds in a single treasury account.
Last week, the MFBM released the Bangsamoro Budget Memorandum No. 2020-01 or the Bangsamoro Budget Call which kickstarts the first of the four-phased budget cycle of the Bangsamoro region.
The Bangsamoro Organic Law states in Article VII, Section 27 that the Parliament shall pass an annual appropriations law.
Section 28 further states that "the form, content, and manner of preparation of the Bangsamoro budget shall be prescribed by law enacted by the Parliament, consistent with existing laws, rules, and regulations of the National Government."
Last year, the Bangsamoro government approved a P65-billion budget for fiscal year 2020.
The regional budget process includes the ministries' submission of budget proposal to the MFBM, the approval of the said budget proposals and inclusion in the Bangsamoro Expenditure Program (BEP), the presentation of the BEP to the Parliament for deliberation and approval, followed by the signature of the chief minister.
The Bangsamoro law which created BARMM was signed by President Rodrigo Duterte in 2018. The following year, a plebiscite on the inclusion in the autonomous region was made.
The formal turnover of power of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to the newly formed BARMM happened in February 2019. —LDF, GMA News