BANGSAMORO NEWS UPDATES

MANILA – Some 294 new police recruits, who were former members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), took their oath as members of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region (PRO-BAR) on Thursday at Camp SK Pendatun, Parang, Maguindanao del Norte.

Interior Secretary Benhur Abalos welcomed to the country’s police force the new recruits composed of 255 men and 39 women under the MILF and MNLF recruitment program.

COTABATO CITY - Employees of the Bangsamoro local government ministry have assured to support their newly-appointed minister's peace and development efforts, just the way they did for her predecessor.

Besides being the Bangsamoro local government minister, the lawyer Sha Elijah Dumama Alba is also a concurrent member of the region’s 80-seat parliament.

Bangsamoro Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim appointed her early this month, replacing the lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, who had resigned from the post.

MARAWI CITY - The Management Committee (ManCom) of the Ministry of Interior and Local Government (MILG) convened its third regular ManCom meeting in the Islamic City of Marawi, hosted by the MILG Provincial Field Office of Lanao del Sur, led by MILG LDS Provincial Head Cader D Indar Jr.

The ManCom meeting, chaired by Minister Atty Sha Elijah Dumama-Alba, was held in Marawi City to boost the local economy.

The newly appointed Minister took advantage of the opportunity to further coordinate activities with Ministry officials from the regional and field offices.

Around 33 teachers from nine elementary and high schools in South Upi have participated in the training on SCREAM: Supporting Children’s Rights through Education, the Arts and the Media organized by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Bangsamoro Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education last December 13-15, 2023.

It was held at the Inclusive and Supportive Center of Learning (ISCL) of Timanan Central Elementary School.

COTABATO CITY — The Bangsamoro Parliament approved measures to create three new municipalities in the province of Maguindanao del Norte on Wednesday, December 20.
 
Pending the majority vote in a plebiscite, the municipalities of Datu Sinsuat Balabaran, Sheik Abas Hamza, and Nuling are poised to join the administrative map of the BARMM.
 
Deputy Speaker Atty. Lanang T. Ali Jr. authored Parliament Bill Nos. 190 and 191, which aim to create Datu Sinsuat Balabaran and Sheik Abas Hamza, respectively.

COTABATO CITY - The provincial government of Lanao del Sur is constructing a P182 million marketing facility for agricultural products from across the province to hasten the connectivity among local merchants and entrepreneurs and their counterparts outside of the province.

The construction of the large, permanent trading site in a strategic area in Marantao municipality is being bankrolled with a P182 million loan from the Land Bank of the Philippines, according to staff members of the Lanao del Sur provincial governor’s communications office.

COTABATO CITY––Several Bangsamoro lawmakers filed a measure to standardize the halal industry and protect Muslim consumers from consuming and availing of non-halal products and services on Monday afternoon, December 18.

Halal Consumer's Act for the Bangsamoro Region, primarily authored by Member of the Parliament Romeo K. Sema, defines the halal standards, registration, and monitoring of halal products including the prohibited acts of misleading and false representation, and the halal consumers’ rights.

COTABATO CITY — A measure was introduced on Monday, December 18, that would define the constituencies of the 32 single-member parliamentary districts in the Bangsamoro region, which is crucial in preparation for the first parliamentary elections in 2025.
 
The Parliament Bill No. 267, filed by the Government of the Day, aims to ensure equitable representation among the 4.9 million Bangsamoro constituents.
 
Of the 80 members of the Bangsamoro Parliament, 40% are district representatives.
 

COTABATO CITY – The Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE) continues to uphold its overarching goal of ensuring that “No Bangsamoro learner shall be left behind,” as it turned over two water vehicles worth P14,490,000 to the school divisions of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.
 

DAVAO CITY — Bangsamoro Government demonstrated its commitment to resilience by convening the ‘Bangsamoro Community Resilience Summit’ on Dec. 12-13, providing a strategic platform to address challenges in the Bangsamoro region.
 
Newly designated Minister of the Interior and Local Government (MILG) Lawyer Sha Elijah Dumama-Alba took the forefront in championing resilience within the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), emphasizing the need for collaboration, diversity utilization, and inclusivity to foster resilience in the region.