Philippines: ARMM turns over power to Bangsamoro authority

• Gov. Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao turned over the ARMM government to the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) in a simple but emotional event here on 26 Feb 19.
• The turnover of ARMM to Al Hajj Murad Ebrahim, interim chief minister of BTA, signaled the start of its replacement with the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
• The BARMM will also cover Cotabato City, originally under Region 12. The city will serve as the Bangsamoro regional capital.
• Hataman, whose second term as ARMM governor is to end on 30 Jun 19, said he has decided not to join the transitory bloc led by Ebrahim so he can return to his home province of Basilan and focus on local humanitarian and security programs meant to complement the fragile peace in the province.
• The BARMM is a product of 22 years of peace talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that Ebrahim leads as figurehead of its central leadership core.
• Ebrahim, for his part, said his leadership of the BARMM interim parliament will focus on pressing concerns besetting its territory – illiteracy, poverty and corruption in the bureaucracy. Ebrahim said he will oversee in concurrent capacity the BARMM’s public works ministry.
• Amid reports of discontent among members of the Moro National Liberation Front, President Duterte met with MNLF chairman Nur Misuari at Malacañang on 25 Feb 19 to boost peace efforts in Mindanao.
• Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said the President’s meeting with Misuari lasted about 15 minutes and there was no discussion on the alleged rumblings within the MNLF regarding the unequal distribution of slots in the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA).

External Link: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/02/27/1897169/armm-turns-over-power-bangsamoro-authority

External Link: https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2019/02/27/1897167/duterte-meets-nur-misuari-boost-peace-efforts