Education gets biggest share of BARMM budget for 2024

Chief Minister Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim —EBRAHIM FACEBOOK

ILIGAN CITY — The parliament of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) on Thursday approved a P98-billion spending program for next year with education getting the biggest share.

The budget measure earned a unanimous approval from the parliament which had deliberated on it in the last two months. Eventually, Chief Minister Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim had certified the urgency of passing the proposed budget.

“Let’s ensure that this budget provides concrete results to our communities. To Bangsamoro, this budget is for you. It was crafted to ensure that we all reap the fruits of a long-time struggle,” Ebrahim explained in his certification of the urgency of the bill’s passage.

This is the fifth budget measure firmed up by the interim parliament after it was organized in February 2019 following the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law which provided for greater governance powers to the Moro people, in keeping with the peace deals signed by the government with the Moro National Liberation Front in 1996 and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in 2014.

The 2024 spending program, according to Bangsamoro finance Chief Ubaida Pacasem, will be funded by the annual block grant at P70.5 billion; P5.08 billion from shares in national taxes collected within the BARMM; P5 billion from the Special Development Fund; P471 million from the projected regional taxes; and P17.3 billion from the declared savings from prior years.

The 2024 spending is 15.36 percent more than the current year’s budget.

Of the P98.467-billion budget, P30.2 billion (30.6 percent) will go to the education sector to support the effort of improving learning among Bangsamoro children.

Government data showed that for every 100 children who enrolled in Grade 1 in school year 2010-2011, only 17 were able to finish Grade 12 in school year 2021-2022 (at 17 percent), below the national average of 57 percent.

Among the education spending priorities in 2024 is strengthening the instruction in government and private madaris (Muslim schools), and scholarship programs for poor Bangsamoro students.

Next to education, the budget will boost infrastructure development in the region, getting P17.7 billion, especially for improving roads and transportation facilities.

Health spending comes third with an allocation of P6.65 billion. —RYAN D. ROSAURO

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