BARMM execs seek help to deal with Sulu’s exit

COTABATO CITY—Bangsamoro leaders have called for the convening of the Intergovernmental Relations Body (IGRB) to thresh out the full impact of the Supreme Court ruling severing Sulu province from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and lay out the necessary measures to ensure a smooth transition.

Interim Bangsamoro Parliament Deputy Speaker Omar Yasser Sema said the IGRB is the best platform to address the repercussions of the high court decision and come up with coordinated actions between the regional and national governments.

The IGRB is a mechanism put in place following the inception of BARMM to fine tune the exercise of powers and resolve related issues between the Bangsamoro and the national government.

Sema also urged the BARMM leadership to set a clear policy direction in view of the SC ruling.

Which region to belong

The decision, penned by Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen and concurred in by 14 other justices, is immediately executory.

Among the issues raised in light of the ruling is the status of regional government workers stationed in Sulu like teachers.

Another is to which administrative region Sulu will belong to. The nearest to it is the Zamboanga Peninsula (Region 9), to which Lamitan City in Basilan, which is not part of the BARMM, belongs.

BARMM Spokesperson and Cabinet Secretary Mohd Asnin Pendatun said they had to ensure there would be no disruption in the delivery of services to the people of Sulu despite the high court’s ruling.

For example, he said, they would need enough time to transition public school teachers in Sulu from the control of the regional Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education to the Department of Education.

Parliament Member Benjamin Loong said he was worried about the impact of the ruling on the massive development investments in Sulu. “Without the investments infused by the regional government, efforts at improving standard of living will be greatly hampered,” Loong said in a statement.

“We trust [that] President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. … will intervene to address the adverse effect to life, administration, operation and services to the affected people of Sulu,” said a statement on Thursday by BARMM Education Minister Mohagher Iqbal, IGRB cochair.