Cotabato City—Members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) Parliament back the President’s call on the Filipino people to embrace peace and unity among them and buckle down to work.
Bangsamoro Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim lauded the continued commitment of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in bringing about “genuine autonomy and progress” for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Member of Parliament (MP) Michael Midtimbang urged the Bangsamoro people to support the calls of the President “to strengthen the bridge of reconciliation in peace and in unity for us to achieve total development.”
In his official statement the day after the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 17, BARMM Chief Minister Ebrahim said: “The president’s call for granting amnesty is a testament to his strong and resolute desire of finding lasting peace and justice.”
Midtimbang said the Moro people, having been through ages of armed conflict, would particularly reap from the fruits of peace which would propel the Bangsamoro Region “through genuine status of development from improved economy which translates to prosperity in livelihood amongst them.”
For his part, MP Rasul Ismael said he was delighted to report to President Marcos, through Ebrahim and Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri that his office’s share of the TDIF (Transitional Development Initiative Funds) will be utilized for infrastructure in support to sports development and sanitary facilities in Cotabato City, as well as on improvement of farm-to-market road project in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte.
Engineer Avila Abobakar, head of the district engineering office in Maguindanao del Norte which implements the projects, said infrastructure support to sports development is an “essential component of building a healthier and drug-free environment today and for the welfare of future generations as well.”
Echoing the President’s SONA, Midtimbang said he has been inclined to support renewable energy programs, initially through research and development, and on disaster-risk reduction in BARMM.
“Suportaan po natin ang adhikain ng mahal na Pangulo , Kapayapaan, Pagkakaisa at Rekonsilasyon para sa kaunlaran. Uunlad ang ekonomiya, gaganda ang buhay ng mamayan, sagana ang kabuhayan at matiwasay na pamumuhay,” Midtimbang said in his public messages in his native Maguindanao.
Meanwhile, Midtimbang urged the government through BARMM’s Ministry of Social Welfare to utilize a P 2 million provision on relief and rehabilitation families displaced by armed conflict and floods in Maguindanao del Sur. He said he had allocated the amount from his office’s Transitional Development Initiative Fund (TDIF).
Midtimbang said “one of the President’s most recent efforts that will significantly transform the region is his national policy in authorizing the signing of the Intergovernmental Energy Board Circular, empowering both the national government and BARMM for a Joint Award of Petroleum Service Contracts and Coal Operating contracts in the region.
He said this will be the “gateway for economic prosperity by bringing about both foreign and local investors and thousands of job opportunities in all levels in the region.”
Midtimbang added in a social media post, addressing the Chief Executive: “We are very proud of you my beloved President and we are fully supportive of your vision on peace, unity and reconciliation for total development.”
“The leadership of the Bangsamoro people acknowledges and expresses gratitude to His Excellency Ferdinand Bongbong Romualdez Marcos for his unrelenting support for peace and development in the Bangsamoro Region,” he said.
Midtimbang said the mere mention of the Bangsamoro Region by the President in his Second SONA came to the Bangsamoro Homeland in “bold heavy notes” upon its people to ponder on.
He said the SONA truly mirrors the significant achievements of the Second Marcos Presidency, in bringing about peace, fostering unity, and facilitating economic development in the region.
“Fostering Peace, Unity and Reconciliation had been my lifelong endeavor and dream for the Bangsamoro People and words could not express my happiness to know that such principles and goals were in the President’s vision and are now transformed into policies and acts in more concrete terms,” Midtimbang pointed out.
Midtimbang said the SONA was a precise outline of a transformative impact of the President’s “optimistic vision for a brighter future” for the Filipino people.
With such a big push from the President, the Bangsamoro region is seen to achieve sustainable peace, enabling it to foster social unity, and promote economic development, he said.