COTABATO CITY – Presidential Peace Adviser and Defense Secretary Carlito G. Galvez, Jr. underscored the crucial role the international donor community has played in enhancing the capacity of the Bangsamoro government for good, effective and responsive governance.

Speaking during the third Project Steering Committee Meeting of the Support to Bangsamoro Transition (SUBATRA) here on Monday, Galvez commended the SUBATRA Team for the major accomplishments it has achieved since it was launched in 2021.

“I commend the SUBATRA Team for the outstanding work you have done since you started operations,” he said, noting how the European Union-supported project is helping to institutionalize best governance practices in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

Capacitating the BARMM gov’t

Co-financed by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), under an agreement with the Government of the Philippines, the SUBATRA Program “contributes to a smooth and timely undertaking of the transition through capacity building of the three branches of the Bangsamoro Government (executive, legislative and judicial) and civil society organizations.”

“The activities you have carried out to strengthen the capacities for good and effective governance of the BARMM executive offices, enhance the legislative functions of the BTA parliament, and improve the judicial functions of the Bangsamoro justice system, as well as boost the capacities of civil society organizations, are now being felt and making an impact across all levels of the bureaucracy and society as a whole,” Galvez said.

“Given the SUBATRA’s impressive track record, there is no doubt that the initiatives you will be undertaking will address the emerging needs of the BARMM government, given the reconstitution of the new BTA, and the growing demands on the interim administration to make an impact on the lives of the Bangsamoro people,” he added.

In his remarks, BARMM Interim Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim, who is also co-chair of SUBATRA’s Project Steering Committee, commended the SUBATRA for its achievements during the first year of program implementation.

“I would like to take note and congratulate the good progress made under the SUBATRA Program…for its remarkable progress and achievements,” Ebrahim said.

“As the program has already implemented the year one [of its deliverables], it has already accomplished several milestones and seems to be on track in achieving its targets,” he added.

With the SUBATRA’s impressive performance, Ebrahim said he would like to see how the Program “can support us in the passage of priority codes that are now embodied in our legislative agenda” such as the Local Government Code, Electoral Code and Revenue Code.”

He likewise expressed his “profound gratitude to Sec. Carlito Galvez for providing steadfast support to maintaining peace in the Bangsamoro region, as he congratulated the secretary “for leading again the implementation of the peace process.”

Strengthening BARMM’s institutions

For his part, SUBATRA director Engr. Mohajirin Ali presented the program’s key accomplishments for Year 1 covering the period August 2021 to July 2022, its proposed work plan for Year 2, and the six resolutions that were approved by the SUBATRA Project Steering Committee during the meeting.

“The [BTA’s] transition period is critical because it is where the government of the day established political institutions, the bureaucracy, the core legal framework and more importantly, the socio-economic development roadmap that as extensively laid out in the Bangsamoro Transition Plan, the 2020-2022 12-Point Priority Agenda of our Chief Minister and the first Bangsamoro Development Plan,” he explained.

According to Ali, the SUBATRA “operates against this backdrop” and this is the reason why the program’s focus for year one has been “to support and strengthen the institutions established by the government of the day.”

“The strategies of the SUBATRA are two-pronged: First we strengthen [BARMM] institutions by helping enhance their mandates, plans and business processes and providing them with ICT multi-media tools and equipment. A critical component of this strategy is piloting mechanisms gained from these interventions,” he said.

“Then we provided training, coaching, and scale up knowledge and experience from the intervention. In terms of approach, we make sure that our approaches are in line with the Bangsamoro Organic Law, the 12-Point Priority Agenda and the first BDP’s goals,” Ali added.

Key recommendations

During the discussions, Galvez outlined several key recommendations which he hoped the SUBATRA Project Steering Committee would consider and adopt.

The first is a proposal for the program’s Steering Committee to support the national government’s efforts to strengthen the Inter-Governmental Relations Body (IGRB) as an institution.

“The IGR Body is very powerful considering that the IGR is incorporated in the [Bangsamoro Organic] Law. The IGRB is very important because it is shepherding the different national departments and the Bangsamoro ministries,” Galvez pointed out.

“Under the IGRB are seven inter-governmental bodies…The acceptability of the Bangsamoro [interim government] will be enhanced considering that it will include the Speaker of the House, the Senate President, and the members of Congress,” he added.

This move, Galvez said, “would elevate the capacity of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority to be legitimized by year 2025. So that it will gather a lot of support if you will enhance the IGR body.”

Galvez second proposal is for the SUBATRA Steering Committee to support efforts of the national and Bangsamoro governments to develop the BARMM’s justice system, which is anchored on Sharia Law.

He recalled the visit he made with seven Supreme Court justices, including Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, to Marawi City last year wherein they committed to help spread the culture of peace in Mindanao and throughout the country by strengthening the rule of law.

Galvez remembered Gesmundo’s exact words: “Without peace, there will be no development. But we should also agree that there is no peace if there is no rule of law and justice.”

The peace adviser’s third proposal is for the SUBATRA Steering Committee to support the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity’s (OPAPRU) efforts to mainstream peace education in the basic and higher education sectors.

Galvez said that OPAPRU is now in the process of enhancing Executive Order 570, in which universities across the country will be required to set up a peace center in support of the national government’s efforts to promote the culture of peace.

“I believe that we can enhance those [peacebuilding] activities [under E0 570] because we believe that the recruitment of violent extremists will be coming from those who are not educated, who lack the understanding of dialogue,” he noted.

Galvez’s fourth proposal is for the SUBATRA Steering Committee to help ensure the completion of the BARMM’s priority legislation such as the Electoral Code and Local Government Code within the first quarter of this year.

He believes that once these codes are passed, it will “give more confidence” to the Filipino people and the national government on the Bangsamoro government’s capacity to chart the region’s socio-economic and socio-political development.

After the SUBATRA Steering Committee Meeting, Galvez led the turn over of coasters donated by the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) to the Bangsamoro Parliament.

“These coasters, which are worth Php 5 million, will be used by the Bangsamoro parliament in its daily operations, especially as it carries out its main mandate of legislating laws, and most importantly, reaching out and serving the needs of their constituents,” he said.

Courtesy Calls

During his visit to Cotabato, Galvez also paid a courtesy call to Ebrahim wherein the two discussed key developments in the Bangsamoro peace process.

The chief minister likewise congratulated Galvez on his appointment as defense chief.

From Cotabato, Galvez flew to Davao City to meet with Moro National Liberation Front Founding Chair Nur Misuari.

During the meeting, the peace adviser reaffirmed his commitment to the peace process with the MNLF, saying he is committed more than ever to sustain and build on the gains of peace with the Moro group.

For his part, Misuari congratulated Galvez for being named as Defense secretary.

“I will remain committed to pursue the peace process in Mindanao as part of the guidance of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., to fulfill the realization of the Bangsamoro peace process as contained in the peace agreements,” Galvez said. ###