BARMM lawmakers file bills reorganizing, creating, renaming ministries

COTABATO CITY - Several Bangsamoro lawmakers have filed bills that would reorganize, create, and rename ministries in the Muslim autonomous region.

The proposed measures introduced on first reading on Tuesday, September 26, include reorganizing the Ministries of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education (MBHTE) and Agriculture, Fisheries, and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR) as well as creating the Ministries of Technical Education and Skills Development;  Energy; Tourism; Fisheries and Aquatic Resources; Agrarian Reform; and Bangsamoro Commission on Higher Education.
 
It was filed by MPs Amilbahar Mawallil, Laisa Alamia, Rasol Mitmug Jr., and Suharto Ambolodto. Co-authors of the bills are MPs Baintan Ampatuan, Don Mustapha Loong, and Rasul Ismael.
 
Parliament Bill (PB) No. 18 seeks to structurally and functionally reorganize the MBHTE. Under the proposed measure, a Ministry of Education will be created to better serve the region's basic education sector.
 
With the proposed measure on the reorganization of MBHTE, a Ministry of Technical Education and Skills Development will be created under PB No. 17 that will provide policy direction for technical education and skills training.
 
The Bangsamoro Commission on Higher Education, a separate and independent regional commission focusing on higher education, is also proposed in PB No. 16.
 
Another proposed bill seeks to reorganize MAFAR to focus on the specific needs of the agricultural sector.
 
"BTA, The reorganization and creation of a separate ministry will institutionalize a workforce that is solely dedicated to the management of the region’s agricultural resources," said MP Mawallil.
 
Under PB No. 15, MAFAR will be renamed as the Ministry of Agriculture.
 
PB No. 11 seeks to create the Ministry of Agrarian Reform, a principal agency mandated to assist the Bangsamoro government in the implementation of the agrarian reform law, programs, and projects.
 
While PB No. 12 proposes to establish a Ministry of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources, which will serve as the lead agency in charge of the rational and sustainable development, improvement, management, protection, and conservation of the Bangsamoro region's fisheries and aquatic resources.
 
Measures which seek to create Ministries of Energy and Tourism were also filed.
 
The Ministry of Energy, as proposed under PB No. 14, is an entity that will prepare, integrate, coordinate, supervise, and control all plans, programs, projects, and activities of the Bangsamoro government related to energy exploration, development, utilization, distribution, and conservation.
 
PB No. 13 seeks to create a Ministry of Tourism, responsible for encouraging, promoting, and developing tourism as a major socio-economic activity to generate revenues and employment.
 
Meanwhile, said lawmakers also filed bills that would constitute the Bangsamoro Electoral Code and protect the rights of internally displaced persons of the Bangsamoro region. (LTAIS-Public Information, Publication, and Media Relations Division)