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GENERAL SANTOS, Philippines – Bangsamoro lawmakers are working on the passage of a law that would allow the regional government to relocate its seat from Cotabato City to a town in the newly formed Maguindanao del Norte province.
Bangsamoro parliament floor leader Sha Elijah Dumama-Alba said members of the region’s legislature anticipate completing their work and approving the regional law next month to move the seat of power of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to Parang town.
The current BARMM seat of government is in Cotabato City, which has been a regional center since the first Marcos administration. Before the BARMM, it was the seat of the Regional Autonomous Government starting in 1979 and then the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in 1989.
“We hope to pass it (into law) within May,” Dumama-Alba said of Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) Bill 43, which is being pushed by BARMM interim Chief Minister Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim.
Dumama-Alba said a committee report containing the results of the consultations they have conducted will be submitted in the plenary. She noted that most participants favored the transfer of the BARMM capital.
But she pointed out that the legislative work can be fast-tracked depending on the Committee on the Establishment of the Administrative Capital (CEAC), consisting of several ministries and agencies, which will be formed to work on the details.
CEAC would lead and organize the preparation, development, and implementation of master plans, strategies, processes, and timetables that would serve as the framework for the development of Parang as the new administrative center of the Bangsamoro government.
BARMM Parliament Deputy Floor Leader Mary Ann Arnado said the public consultations provided an opportunity for regional officials to engage with the public and hear their voices.
“It is crucial that everyone understands what the administrative capital is, what requirements should be considered to become an administrative capital, and why Parang,” she said.
During the consultations, other places considered were the towns of Datu Odin Sinsuat, Sultan Kudarat, and Sultan Mastura. Of these municipalities, Parang had the highest rating.
Dumama-Alba said the proposal to move the BARMM seat of government was “borne out of a feeling of necessity” because the regional government’s bureaucracy has already grown big with the additional powers provided by the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).
She said the responsibilities of the Bangsamoro government were also growing, requiring more manpower and space outside its current seat of power in Cotabato City.
The planned transfer would not be a walk in the park. Dumama-Alba said it would take about 10 years to relocate the BARMM regional government and develop a new center.
Initially, a budget of P800 million has been set aside for the construction of the planned BARMM parliament building.
The regional government of BARMM’s precursor, ARMM, had planned to transfer the Muslim-majority region’s seat of power to Parang when the regional governor was Nur Misuari.
On September 22, 1995, ARMM’s legislature passed Muslim Mindanao Autonomy Act No. 42 to make Parang the regional capital, but it never materialized. The passage of Republic Act No. 9054 in 2001 mandated the ARMM to build a permanent seat of government, and it did in Cotabato City.
Under the BOL, however, the BARMM parliament has been tasked to establish its permanent seat of power anywhere within the territorial jurisdiction of the region, taking into consideration accessibility and the efficiency with which its mandate may be carried out.
Dumama-Alba said a feasibility study has shown that Parang is the most ideal location to establish the new BARMM capital because of its location and accessibility, land availability and suitability, infrastructure and utilities, economic, institutional, and social services, social and political acceptability, peace and order conditions.
She said the town has the potential to enhance BARMM’s development.
Parang Mayor Cahar Ibay said his town is “ideally best for establishing the development and implementation of the master plan for the new seat of the capital of the Bangsamoro government.”
Officials said Parang town, which is home to the regional office of the Philippine National Police (PNP) in the BARMM, scored highest among other municipalities due to the prospects of the Polloc Freeport and Economic Zone, a potential gateway to domestic and international sea routes.
However, Cotabato City Vice Mayor Johari Abu, who attended a consultation, asked BARMM officials to discuss the impact of BTA Bill 43 on Cotabato City. – Rappler.com
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