FILE PHOTO: SEAT OF POWER The Office of the Chief Minister Building in Cotabato City, the seat of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in the Muslim Mindanao government. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
KORONADAL CITY — The Bangsamoro Parliament has voted to move the seat of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) from Cotabato City to nearby Parang, Maguindanao del Norte, about 31 kilometers away.
This development defeated the first bill filed under the new Bangsamoro Transition Authority, which sought to declare Cotabato City as the “permanent seat” of the Bangsamoro government.
A total of 47 members of the BTA Parliament voted yes, while six others abstained on BTA Bill No. 43, also known as the Seat of Government Act of 2023, approved during the BTA session on Monday, June 19. No one voted “no,” while the rest of the BTA Parliament members were absent.
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Parang, a town of Maguindanao del Norte only 36.7 kilometers from the Awang airport, also hosts the Polloc Freeport and Economic Zone and the regional office of the Philippine National Police.
The new government center will house the offices of the Wali, the Chief Minister, the Bangsamoro Parliament, and the BARMM ministries, offices, and agencies. Historically, Cotabato City has been the regional seat of three autonomous regions: from what used to be known as the former Regional Autonomous Government (RAG) 12 in 1979, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in the 1990s, and the expanded autonomous territory that came to be known as BARMM in 2019 with the compound housing the buildings being referred to as the Bangsamoro Government Center (BGC).
The BGC currently hosts the governance structure of the BARMM, with a bureaucracy of 32 ministries, agencies, and offices, and its 80-member BTA Parliament.
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In September 2022, Members of Parliament (MPs) Baintan Adil-Ampatuan, Amir S. Mawallil, Rasol Mitmug, Jr., Laisa M. Alamia, Suharto Ambolodto, Don Mustapha A. Loong and Rasul E. Ismael had pushed for a bill to declare Cotabato City as the permanent seat of the BARMM.
The authors describe the buildings in the BGC as “significant, historic and symbolic of the Bangsamoro struggle,” referring to the Office of the Chief Minister, the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex with the Bangsamoro Museum and Regional Library, and the Bangsamoro Parliament building, among others.
Republic Act 11054, or the Organic Law for the BARMM, also called the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), provides that the Parliament shall fix by law the permanent seat of the Bangsamoro government anywhere within the territorial jurisdiction of the region, taking into consideration the accessibility and the efficiency with which its mandate may be carried out.
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BTA Parliament Floor Leader Lawyer Sha Elijah Dumama-Alba believed that enacting the bill moving the seat of the BARMM would offer new opportunities to the Bangsamoro people.
“The relocation of the seat of government is expected to promote better accessibility, foster regional development and strengthen the BARMM’s capacity to serve its constituents effectively,” she said in a report.
The committee on establishing the seat of government of the BARMM will identify the specific site and area for the BGC in the new site. The physical transfer of the seat of government from Cotabato City to Parang, Maguindanao del Norte, will occur gradually once the necessary infrastructure, such as office buildings, roads, utilities, and communication systems, is completed, the report said.
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“We firmly believe that our locality (is) an advantageous setting for the BGC,” Parang Mayor Cahar Ibay said.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, Parang town has 102,000 people or 17,000 households in 25 barangays.
Strategically placed in Maguindanao’s northwest, Matanog borders Parang to the north, Barira and Buldon to the west, and Sultan Mastura to the south, all within Maguindanao del Norte.