COTABATO City– Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) on Thursday called on Magdalo Partylist Rep. Gary Alejano to cease spreading deception and mistrust.
Alejano has said that the proposed ‘P27 billion Bangsamoro block grant’ as envisioned in the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law from the national government might be used instead to purchase arms.
Taking offense from what he described as baseless allegations, Hataman told reporters that the funds will go to the operation and programs of the new Bangsamoro government similar to the funds received by the ARMM at present, contrary to insinuations of that the P27-billion block grant will go to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The BBL is a proposed bill that when approved will be the basis for the creation of a new political entity in Mindanao as a result of the government peace process with the MILF.
Alejano, vice chairman of the House national defense committee, alleged that the proposed annual block grant for the Bangsamoro might be used by the MILF for purchasing firearms and weapons and continue fighting the government.
Hataman stressed that the annual block grant will be used to provide better public services to the residents of the autonomous region.
“Gagamitin iyan para sa pagbili ng gamot para sa mga ospital, pagsasaayos ng mga serbisyong pangkalusugan, pambayad sa ating mga guro, at iba pa. Kapalit lang ho iyan ng kasalukuyang budget ng ARMM na kinukuha mula sa GAA (It will be used to buy medicines for hospitals, to improve medical services, to pay the wages of teachers, and others. That is just a replacement of the current ARMM budget from the GAA),” Hataman said.
The regional governor also expressed dismay over the seemingly uninformed comments by the BBL critics. “Hindi po ito ang unang pagkakataon na nagbitiw ang isang kongresista ng maling impormasyon tungkol sa Bangsamoro. Sana ho kritikal at nagsusuri ang ating mga kasama sa gobyerno, kung gusto talaga nila ng kaunlaran at kapayapaan dito sa rehiyon (This is not the first time that a congressman misinformed the people about the Bangsamoro. I hope those in government will be more mindful of their statements and practice due diligence if they really want development and peace in the region),” he said.
“Halimbawa, ngayon, sana ho inaalam kung para saan nga ba ang pera bago sila nagsasalita ng kung ano-ano, mali-mali naman at walang basehan (For example, in this case, I hope the critics tried to actually know how the money will be spent before they make any assumptions and try to pass them off as facts),” Hataman added.
“Hindi talaga namin maintindihan bakit paulit-ulit na lang ang issue na baka gamitin ang P27 billion block grant para ibili ng MILF ng armas. Hindi naman ho iyan mapupunta sa MILF. Didiretso ang pera na yan sa kaban ng Bangsamoro (We really cannot understand why they keep echoing the issue that the P27-billion block grant will be used by the MILF to purchase weapons. That money will not go to the MILF. It will go directly to the coffers of the Bangsamoro),” explained Hataman.
“Saka paano ‘yan mapupunta sa MILF kung ‘di pa nga natin nasisiguro kung sila nga o ang kanilang partido ay mananalo sa eleksyon (Besides, how would that money go to the MILF, when we are not yet even sure if their political party will win in the election),” Hataman said, hoping his explanation will give light and understanding of the real objective of the BBL, not only for Alejano but to all lawmakers from Luzon and Visayas. Hataman said similar to other government agencies, the ARMM budget is included in the General Appropriations Act that needs to be defended annually.
However, under the proposed new Bangsamoro setup, the regional government will receive an automatic allocation that is akin to the Internal Revenue Allocations (IRA) of local government units. The formula for computing the annual block grant is 4 percent of the 60 percent of the total national revenue three fiscal years prior. For 2016, that amount would total P27 billion. The ARMM’s budget for 2015 is just a little more than P25 billion. pna
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