Duterte vows aid to develop Bangsamoro

President Rodrigo Duterte has pledged to provide a budget for the Bangsamoro autonomous region to support its development.He assured members of the Bangsamoro transition government that the region’s resources will belong to the Bangsamoro people.“Violence visited us every now and then. I hope that we can end this. And I assure you — there is one contentious issue about your resources. It’s all yours,” Duterte told the 80-member Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) that will govern the newly-formed Bangsamoro region in Mindanao.“It belongs to the Mindanaoans. Do not be afraid that you will be deprived of this. It will always benefit the Mindanaoan and that is the purpose why we are here. We do away with greed.We do away with oppression,” he added.The president, however, admitted that the government could not afford to give the budget to the new autonomous region in one go. “We will provide the budget,” Duterte told reporters in a chance interview after administering the oath of the members of the interim government led by Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim.“But it will not be given in one time. It’s impossible. We cannot afford to do that,” he added.Under the Bangsamoro Organic Law, the new region will have an annual block grant or a 5% share in the national internal revenue. The block grant is estimated to reach P60bn.The law also mandates a 10-year special development fund worth P50bn to help rebuild communities affected by conflict.Duterte said the government must collect ample revenues that would be allocated to the Bangsamoro region. He added that the region’s funds would be given “as the need arises and as we collect the funds.”Murad earlier said the BTA would use the P32bn budget allotted for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) which the Bangsamoro region replaced to deliver on the promise of improved education, social services, and infrastructure.Murad said the “block grant” would have to wait until next year. Congress allocated P30bn for the new government’s operations.The new region also stands to receive P50bn in “special development fund” after 2019 to rebuild areas devastated by years of armed conflict.The creation of the BTA is one of the major steps in the peace process between the Philippine government and the MILF, which once led a secessionist rebellion in Mindanao.The Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) congratulated the government, MILF and the Bangsamoro Transition Commission as well as local communities on the establishment of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority.“This is a landmark achievement on the road to lasting peace in the Southern Philippines, as well as a historic occasion for all people from the Philippines,” said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the Secretary-General.”The United Nations will continue to support the Philippines in the implementation of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, and to help build the capacity of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority to achieve peace, democratic governance, and respect for human rights,” Dujarric added.