PASAY CITY – The passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) will not only prevent violent extremism and terrorism, it will also bring sustainable economic growth in the country.

During the forum on the BBL with the Liga ng mga Barangay sa Pilipinas held in April 23 at the SMX Convention Center, various officials said the BBL is the key that would convert the challenges of the Bangsamoro areas into opportunities.

In his message, Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Deputy Executive Director Romeo Montenegro said good governance will pave way for the Bangsamoro region’s prosperity.

“Part of the reason there is little development in many areas is the lack of governance. If there is no governance, economic activities do not come in, and there are no local efforts to bring the area forward even though resources are available,” he said.

For his part, Bangsamoro Development Agency Chairperson Dr. Saffrullah Dipatuan said it is not true that poverty will continue in the areas identified in the BBL once the law is passed.

“That is not true because the annual block grant would even be added in your allocated budget, according to the BBL. There would also be a special development fund of P100 billion. This fund will be spent for the next years is in order for the Bangsamoro to catch up with other regions in Mindanao and the rest of the country. So it’s not true that there’s no fund. There’s a huge fund and we just need to utilize it in the right way,” Dipatuan said.

Under the proposed BBL, the Annual Block Grants are to be automatically appropriated and released by the national government. For 2019, the block grant for the Bangsamoro political entity is pegged at P72 billion.

Director for External Relations Edgar L. Bullecer of the Paglas Group, Inc. further noted the opportunities the Bangsamoros’ human resource would bring when it comes to governance.

“From our experience in the last 22 years in the Bangsamoro, the human resource in the Bangsamoro is also willingly and able-ready to respond to the challenge of governance. The Bangsamoro can host investors and the Bangsamoro can adapt to the discipline on what is needed to persevere for economic development. With the BBL, the Bangsamoro has been willing, able, ready to respond to the challenge,” he said. ###