BANGSAMORO NEWS UPDATES

COTABATO CITY - Four more Bangsamoro ministries have joined the inter-agency bloc addressing child labor and the use of children in the autonomous region as combatants.

CAMP SK PENDATUN, Maguindanao Norte - Brig. Gen. Allan Nobleza, police regional director for the Bangsamoro Region, on Teusday spearheaded the turn-over ceremony and blessing of newly issued 21 units of patrol jeeps (Toyota Hilux Single Cab 4x2), 94 Basic Assault Rifles (Dasan & Emtan), 21,345 rounds of 9mm ammunition, and 31 raincoats to Lanao del Sur PPO assisted by Colonel Robert Daculan, Lanao Sur police provincial director and Lt. Colonel Edgar Batoon of PRO-BAR, held at Kabalikat ’98 Stage, Camp Bagong Amai Pakpak, Marawi City.

CAMP AGUINALDO, Quezon City - The Armed Forces of the Philippines through its 103rd Infantry Brigade, Philippine Army confirmed the death of Khadafi Mimbesa, also known as “Engineer," in the military operation in January in Lanao del Sur.

DAVAO CITY - “I want to impact people’s lives. Tor contribute to our aspirations for homeland, nation, and faith (hula, bangsa, agama). But I am having second thoughts because I don’t feel confident enough yet.”

“I’m not feeling keen to vie (for elections) because I hate the politics that we have: money politics.”

These are just two of the powerful statements of delegates that resonated during the plenary session of the Female Fellowship for Bangsamoro (FFB).

MANILA – The goal of building a “Bagong Pilipinas” (New Philippines) could not be realized if the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) lags behind, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said Thursday.

During the 17th Meeting of the national and BARMM governments’ Intergovernmental Relations Body (IGRB) at the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) in Pasay City, Marcos stressed the need to pursue “peace with progress.”

MANILA - President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Thursday urged the Bangsamoro leadership to secure the very first elections for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Parliament, particularly against those planning to use violence to disenfranchise voters.

Speaking during the 17th Meeting of the Intergovernmental Relations Body (IGRB) at the Philippine International Convention Center in Pasay City, the President said the preparations for the BARMM’s first parliamentary election will be tested in May 2025.

MANILA – The Bangsamoro government on Wednesday said Feb. 8 is not a holiday but a “special working holiday” within the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

The clarification was made in response to news reports quoting a memorandum issued by the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) about the observance of Lailatul Isra Wal Mi’raf as a holiday.

THE Ministry of Labor and Employment (MOLE) of the Bangsamoro Government and the Bangsamoro Tripartite Wages and Productivity Board (BTWPB) signed and announced on Wednesday Wage Order No. 03, raising the daily wage of employees in the private sector in the region.

Muslimin Sema, MOLE minister, who also chairs BARMM BTWPB, had signed the order in the presence of wage board members raising the daily wage for non-agriculture workers in Cotabato City from P341 to P361 (20 pesos hike).

For the agriculture sector, from P316 daily pay, it is now P336.

COTABATO CITY - Residents of the now progressing fishing capital of Maguindanao del Norte need help from foreign donors in building bridges over rivers at stretches of a road now being constructed to connect their town to Sultan Kudarat province to sustain the booming economy in the area.

The neighboring Maguindanao del Norte and Sultan Kudarat are component provinces of the Bangsamoro region and Administrative Region 12, respectively.

COTABATO CITY – More Mindanao leaders are joining the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region's provincial executives in Muslim Mindanao to stand firm for a united Philippines as they reject calls for separation of Mindanao.

Two provincial governors have issued separate statements refusing calls by former Pres. Rodrigo Duterte for a separate Mindanao.

They are Maguindanao del Sur Gov Bai Mariam Sangki-Mangudadatu and her son Sultan Kudarat Gov. Datu Pax Ali Mangudadatu.