BARMM to sustain services in Sulu despite split

SEAT OF POWER The provincial capitol of Sulu, shown here in 2022, is a major landmark in the capital town of Jolo. Despite a Supreme Court ruling removing Sulu from the Bangsamoro region, the province is expected to continue to receive funds from the national and regional governments to ensure continuity in the delivery of basic services. —Bong Sarmiento

COTABATO CITY, BARMM, Philippines —Despite the Supreme Court ruling severing Sulu from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), the regional government still included Sulu in its budget for programs, activities and projects for 2025, Interim Chief Ahod Ebrahim said.

Ebrahim made this assurance after President Marcos issued a directive in November requiring all local and national government entities in the region to continue the delivery of government services in Sulu, pending the Supreme Court’s final decision on the matter.

The BARMM Interim Chief said he welcomed the President’s directive, referring to PPBM-2024-1244 that the President issued on Nov. 18.

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In fact, the Bangsamoro government had already included programs, activities and projects for Sulu in the Bangsamoro’s expenditure program, according to Ebrahim.

BARMM is seeking a P96.69-billion budget for 2025 and part of it already included funds for Sulu integrated in the respective budgets of the different offices of the BARMM.

Bangsamoro officials have earlier assured there would be no disruption in the release of salaries and benefits of the some 5,700 workers in different BARMM offices in Sulu even with the Supreme Court decision.

On Sept. 9, the highest court of the land ruled that Sulu province is not part of BARMM due to the result of the 2019 plebiscite where 54 percent of Sulu voters cast negative votes, effectively opting out of the province’s inclusion in the region.

Ebrahim said, however, the Bangsamoro Transition Authority, the interim government running the region, has never wavered in its commitment to serve the constituents of Sulu.

“We remain committed to protecting the rights and welfare of the people of Sulu and ensuring that services and programs reach them without disruption,” Ebrahim said, as he lauded the President’s move to ensure the continued delivery of government services to Sulu people.

Reconsider

The Bangsamoro government has two motions for reconsideration filed and now pending before the Supreme Court.

On Oct. 1, the Bangsamoro Attorney General’s Office filed a motion for leave to intervene and admit the attached motion for partial reconsideration of the Supreme Court’s decision.

The first motion seeks to include BARMM as a party to the case concerning the severance of Sulu from the region while the second motion asks the High Court to reinclude the province in the Bangsamoro region.

Ebrahim said the regional government has been closely coordinating with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and other stakeholders to implement the presidential directive without inconveniencing a “smooth” transition should the ruling become final.

In a Nov. 21 press statement, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman stressed the importance of the President’s directive in sustaining the gains of the peace process forged in 2014 between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front that led to the creation of BARMM, especially those involving the region’s bid for self-governance, peace and economic development.

In September, shortly after the Supreme Court released its ruling, Pangandaman also stressed that the salaries and benefits of local government personnel in Sulu would continue under the province’s own budget, while those for personnel of the provincial field offices of the BARMM ministries would continue to be charged against the ministries’ budgets.

The programs, projects and activities for Sulu funded under the Bangsamoro’s 2024 annual budget should also continue until the finality of the Supreme Court ruling, the DBM chief said.