Bangsamoro transition needs more time, Lanao del Sur execs say

COTABATO CITY—After initially opposing calls to extend the period of transition for the Bangsamoro government, officials of Lanao del Sur have expressed full support for the proposal to give the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) three more years.

The provincial chapter of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) passed a resolution on Tuesday supporting calls to give the BTA “sufficient time to continue in performing its powers and functions in fulfilling its mandate.”

The resolution was signed by all mayors in Lanao del Sur, led by Butig Mayor Jimmy Pansar, the LMP chapter president.

Under the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), the 80-member BTA, the current transitional government in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), will give way to the first elected members of the regional parliament in 2022.

But in a resolution late last year, the BTA asked Congress to defer the regional election to 2025.Four bills are pending in the House of Representatives seeking to amend the BOL provision resetting the regional elections from 2022 to 2025. These were filed by House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez, Antique Rep. Loren Legarda, Maguindanao Rep. Esmael Mangudadatu and Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab.

Another bill filed by Lanao del Norte Rep. Mohamad Khalid Dimaporo seeks to extend the transition period to 2028 if the implementation of the normalization program agreed upon by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the government would fall short of its target.

Catholic church leaders and the convenors of Christians for Peace Movement also supported calls to extend the transition period. —EDWIN O. FERNANDEZ