NEWS




29October
Photo courtesy Bangsa Moro Federal Business Council, Inc.

PRRD signs Bangsamoro Transition extension bill

Cotabato City- President Rodrigo Roa Duterte today finally signed the BTA Extension Bill that aims to extend the Bangsamoro Transitioning period from 2022 to 2025.
Maguindanao Rep. Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu authored House-ratified Bill No.10121, while Senator FrancisTolentino sponsored the bill in the Senate.

Rep. Mangudadatu lauded Friday Duterte for approving the consolidated Senate Bill 2214 and House Bill 10121, said a report by Mindanews.

“We would like to thank those who supported the proposal until the end…This measure is a step to ensure that the peace agreement will be implemented for the welfare of the entire Bangsamoro and the Philippines,” he said in a statement in Filipino.
Under RA 11054, the mandate of the BTA is until June 30, 2022, when the new set of elected officials shall have taken their oath of office.

But with Duterte’s signing of Republic Act 11593, which postpones the  2022 Bangsamoro parliamentary elections to 2025, the BTA shall continue to serve as the interim Bangsamoro government. The elections for various local positions such as governors and mayors, will push through in 2022, however, the Mindanews report said.

 Under the reconciled version of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the 80-member BTA shall continue as the interim government in the Bangsamoro region. The President may appoint the 80 new interim members of the BTA who shall serve up to June 30, 2025 or until their successors shall have been elected and qualified, Mindanews report further said.

Mary Ann Arnado, MPC secretary general, said they were happy that Duterte heeded the proposal and signed it into law.

“We are very grateful that our national leaders in Congress heeded our call for extension and we especially commend President Duterte for listening to the voices of Mindanao and the Bangsamoro,” she said.

According to her, Duterte’s action protected his “peace legacy and championed the cause of the Bangsamoro.”