The interim chief of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao said that under the law, the BARMM allowed to directly engage with foreign investors and other nations with diplomatic ties with the Philippines.
Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, who is also the head of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, issued the statement after Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. slammed Ebrahim’s meeting through social media with Turkish diplomats last month.
Locsin, however, did not push through his plan to file a diplomatic protest on the matter.
Ebrahim explained that his trip to Ankara from Dec. 11 to 16 was official and that he was given permission from the Office of the President.
“Under the BOL [Bangsamoro Organic Law], there are provisions allowing us to directly engage with foreign investors and countries with diplomatic relations with the Philippines,” Ebrahim said.
“There is no provision in the BOL wherein…after we [secure a] travel permit with the Office of the President, there is no provision we will still need the permission from the foreign ministry.”
Ebrahim expressed surprised by Locsin's remark because the Turkish ambassador in Manila had said that she had sent a note verbale to the Department of Foreign Affairs.
“I did not think that will happen because the fact that I met with the consul general in Ankara shows that there’s a coordination with the foreign ministry,” he said.
Ebrahim said he thanked the Turkish government for its continuing assistance to the region and for being “very helpful in the peace process.”
He added that he had informed the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process about the issue, as it also heads the Intergovernmental Relations Body, which handles Bangsamoro’s relations with the national government.
Ebrahim said the BARRM had secured some P4.153-billion investments from Malaysia, China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, among others in 2019.
The BARMM was also allotted P65.2 billion in the 2020 national budget, Ebrahim said and will focus on funding education, medical and health services, social services and "strategic" infrastructure to "catch up" with other regions.
He added that at least 3,000 opportunities are available on the Bangsamoro job portal.
“We are really working very hard because as long as the budget will be downloaded to us immediately then we have no reason to be delayed in our program," he said.
