Bangsamoro should be more self-sufficient, says ARMM guv

• Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=1&rid=794884
• Wednesday, August 19, 2015

(PNA), CTB/OPAPP-PR/EDS

COTABATO CITY, Aug 19 (PNA) -- The envisioned Bangsamoro parliamentary government should be more autonomous and better equipped for self-sufficiency than the current setup of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), according to the region’s incumbent governor Mujiv S. Hataman.

“The ARMM has been riddled with problems in the past. But we’ve been doing what we can to provide our people with a government they deserve – a government that is responsive to their needs and allows them to develop their full potentials,” said Hataman.

“Even President Benigno S. Aquino III acknowledged our efforts and the changes we’ve implemented in the ARMM, given the powers devolved to us,” he added.

During his last State of the Nation Address (SONA), Hataman was one of those singled out by President Aquino III for having “done their part to help us progress along the Straight and Righteous Path.”

“The Bangsamoro can do a lot more good if the structural defects within the ARMM will be corrected in the BBL (Bangsamoro Basic Law),” Hataman continued. “That’s why I am strongly calling on our legislators, especially those in the Senate, to continue building on the gains of the ARMM and to provide the Bangsamoro with as much powers as the 1987 Philippine Constitution allows.”

Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong Marcos, Jr., as chair of the committee on local government, recently submitted Committee Report No. 200 that contains a revised version of the BBL. Known as the Basic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (BLBAR), the Senate version, however, contains significant differences compared to the original draft of the bill and to the House version.

Special Development Fund, power to contract loans scrapped

Among the numerous stipulations removed by Senator Marcos is the Bangsamoro provision for a Special Development Fund (SDF).

According to the original version of the BBL drafted by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), a total of P17 billion pesos will be released by the national government to the Bangsamoro “for rehabilitation and development purposes”.

Of this amount, P7 billion will be released following the ratification of the law while the remaining P10 billion will be paid out over five years at the rate of P2 billion per year. Part of the SDF was supposed to finance a women’s peace fund “in support of gender as a cross-cutting concern.”‎ The SDF demonstrates the Philippine government's commitment to fund the rehabilitation and development of the Bangsamoro and can be used as counterpart funds for grants coming from donor institutions or countries. This leveraging can result to 3 or 4 times more than the amount in the SDF thus maximizing the benefit to the country.

Another provision deleted by Marcos was the Bangsamoro’s power to contract loans, credits, and other forms of indebtedness.

According to Senen C. Bacani, member of the GPH negotiating panel, local governments already have the authority to contract domestic loans on their own, including foreign or non-peso denominated loans with the approval of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

He commented that it should be clarified by the lawmakers as contracting loans is an essential part of fiscal management.

“Contracting indebtedness is being done all over the world by all kinds of entities and enterprises. Loaning does not automatically mean you are losing money. For instance, the Philippines as a country is both a creditor and a debtor. It is just a means to manage fiscal responsibilities,” Bacani explained.

The former agriculture secretary added that “the purpose of the SDF is for the immediate takeoff of the Bangsamoro, and the loans may come handy in generating economic activity especially during the autonomous government’s initial years.”

In his sponsorship speech on the BLBAR filed as Senate Bill No. 2894, Senator Marcos failed to provide an explanation on why the aforementioned fiscal provisions have been deleted.

Bangsamoro’s power on economic zones undermined

Republic Act No. 9054, the implementing law of the ARMM, which allows for the establishment of a Regional Economic Zone Authority (REZA) tasked to “encourage, promote, and support the establishment of economic zones, industrial centers, ports in strategic areas, and growth centers to attract local and foreign investments and business enterprises.”

The ARMM implementing law also clearly stipulates that once the REZA is created, “the Philippine Export Zone Authority shall no longer authorize any other economic zone within the autonomous region” and that “any corporation, firm, or entity established within the autonomous region… be placed under the jurisdiction of the REZA.”

However, Bacani noted that the Senate substitute bill now stipulated that the Bangsamoro government must apply with the PEZA before it is able to establish economic zones, industrial estates, and free ports.

Economic zones have been previously cited as one of the driving forces behind the recent economic rebound of the ARMM. According to latest data, the regional government expects a 4.2% gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth by the end of 2015, a 1.2% increase in performance compared to last year.

Economic provisions there for a reason

“A lot of considerations went into the signed documents and even the original draft of the BBL. The economic provisions, for instance, were put there after careful deliberation and planning,” said Bacani.

“We are of the belief that those provisions are all necessary for the Bangsamoro to begin enjoying the same quality of life being enjoyed by other Filipinos across the country,” he continued.

During the March 2014 signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), the peace accord between the GPH and the MILF that served as basis for the drafting of the basic law, President Benigno S. Aquino III announced that the Bangsamoro must be given “a significant boost up, so that they can catch up.”

The 2014 report published by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on human development index (HDI), a metrics used for measuring life expectancy, years of schooling, and income among others, showed that the ARMM was still “lagging behind in many indicators and would need greater attention to catch up with the other regions.”

A similar study conducted in 2009 pegged the HDI of ARMM at .35 or “low human development” while the Philippines, on average, has an HDI score of .609 or “medium human development”. This is comparable to the HDIs of poor African countries such as Niger and Congo. Simple and functional literacy rates in the country are also lowest within the ARMM.

“If we are to truly address the root causes of conflict, we must close the gap between the region and the rest of Filipino society,” continued Aquino.

“While I appreciate the lawmakers retaining some of the salient features of the Bangsamoro such as the parliamentary form of government as well as the block grant, I hope they don’t lose sight of the importance of devolution,” Hataman further explained.

Both the House of Representatives and the Senate are on the deliberations phase on the Bangsamoro bill. Discussions in the House have been hampered by the lack of quorum while a number of Senators asked for one more week to review Marcos’ version.