ARMM officials remain optimistic proposed budget to get House approval

• Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=2&rid=927019
• Wednesday, September 28, 2016

(PNA), LAP/NYP/EOF

COTABATO CITY, Sept. 28 (PNA) -- Officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) on Wednesday expressed confidence the House of Representatives' committee on appropriations will approve its proposed 2017 regional budget.

ARMM Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman wasted no time as he addressed the observations and recommendations of the Commission on Audit (COA) regarding the ARMM budget pegged at P40.573 billion, the biggest budget proposal in the history of the region.

Hataman, accompanied by ARMM Cabinet secretaries, presented the proposed budget during pre-plenary hearing led by Rep. Mohamad Khalid Dimaporo, vice chairperson for the committee on appropriations.

“We acknowledge the COA report and we have a response for every comment on our budget,” said Hataman in a statement released here.

He also noted that the regional government has already complied with the audit observation of the COA.

Hataman noted in his presentation the region’s policy recommendations regarding the disparity between the regional agencies and their national counterparts when it comes to keeping track of the realities on ground.

Specifically, he cited the disparity between the national Department of Education (DepEd)’s Learner Information System (LIS) and the regional DepEd’s actual headcount (AHC) as an example.

Hataman said the disparity translates to a mismatch between the needs of the region and national DepEd’s allocation for teachers and school buildings.

“If the budget allocation for teachers and buildings in the ARMM depends on the national LIS and the ARMM has no recommendatory power, this leads to a problem for which the ARMM is held liable and yet has no jurisdiction over,” Hataman stressed.

“We need a policy to correct this disparity, and it is within the power of the policy makers here present,” he told lawmakers.

On infrastructure, Hataman stressed his administration policy of transparency through innovation

He boasted the existing road network and infrastructure system of the ARMM as a source of pride for the regional government.

“The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH-ARMM) we inherited from past administrations had no clear data on road networks,” Hataman said.

“This is why we decided to hire consultants and, with the help of DPWH-ARMM, studied our existing road networks and made sure to update our database every time we begin and finish a new project,” he added.

Don Mustapha Loong, DPWH-ARMM secretary, told lawmakers of the innovations, the e-ARMM database of DPWH-ARMM, that consolidates all existing information and is updated regularly using geotags, drone technology, and real time updates from the ground.

“We use the technology available to us not only so we can keep track of our progress, but so that the public can access the information and work with the government in making sure that our infrastructure is sound. That’s how transparent the ARMM is now,” Loong said.

On questions why ARMM remained impoverished despite the annual increase in budget in recent years, Hataman said: “The context is very different in the ARMM and the prevalence of conflict bears heavily on our development agenda,” said Hataman.

According to him, the regional government has consistently allocated the recent increases in the regional budget to capital outlay, including programs such as the "Apat na Dapat" program which are designed specifically to uplift the poorest of the poor in the ARMM.

“We have three main strategies in addressing poverty in the ARMM which includes strengthening our rural economy, developing our infrastructure, and supporting the peace process while helping to address the roots of conflict in the region,” Hataman explained.

The regional governor stressed the role of local government units in addressing poverty.

“The local government units are key actors because they are the ones in the front lines,” he said, adding that the local government units under ARMM have a combined internal revenue allocation of at least P15 billion annually.

He admitted some LGUs are not using internal revenue allotment to provide basic social services to their constituents which include repair and maintenance of school buildings such as the ones in Sulu,” Hataman said.

The Local Government Code has provisions that require LGUs to utilize 20 percent development fund of IRA for anti-poverty measures.

He then appealed to ARMM LGUs to take action.

“We in the ARMM cannot do this alone; they cannot just rely on the regional government. The LGUs themselves need to utilize their IRA if we want to help the poorest of the poor," he said.

He appealed to the country's policymakers in finding solutions on these issues.

Kusug Tausug partylist Rep. Shernee Tan raised several questions during the hearing regarding the ARMM’s handling of previously allocated funds.

Tan cited supposed “irregularities,” including an unfinished road project which turned out to be funded by the national DPWH through Region 9 and a school building she tagged as “substandard” but was actually an old building due for repair and was not among those built by the DPWH-ARMM in recent years.

“How can you propose an ARMM budget when your past budget is still unaccounted for?” she asked to which Anak Mindanao Rep. Makmod Mending Jr asked Tan to account for her line of questioning.

“That is a very serious allegation,” Mending said. “We know that the ARMM has already submitted itself to an audit by the COA and has taken action following the audit recommendations, so how can you say that the previous ARMM budget is unaccounted for?”

“If you accuse us of irregularities, feel free to provide proof and plead your case to the proper authorities,” Hataman said.

He then challenged Tan. "I challenge you to a special audit accounting for all the projects and funding in the ARMM and its constituent provinces so we can see where the money really went, and I challenge the province of Sulu especially to undergo the same,” he said.

“Yes, let no one be exempt,” Tan replied.

Sulu has the biggest spike in poverty throughout the ARMM. As figures in other provinces improved, poverty incidence in Sulu more than doubled within the last three years.

Tan is the daughter of former Sulu vice governor Sakur Tan who lost his bid for the regional gubernatorial bid against Hataman last May.

Hataman is now on his second term as elected ARMM governor.