Igbal Confirms P26B Block Grant, P18B for Bangsamoro

(PNA) — The financial concessions which the government have offered to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) under the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) is reasonable given the damage facing the war torn Bangsamoro communities, MILF peace panel chair Mohagher Iqbal said.

Iqbal confirmed the government will provide P26 billion block grant to the Bangsamoro upon ratification of the BBL. The amount would represent the Bangsamoro’s share in the national internal revenue of the government. He said the amount is just enough to pay for the salary of Bangsamoro government officials, if realized.

He also confirmed that under the BBL, the Bangsamoro will also get a special development fund (SDF) of P18 billion for the rehabilitation and development of the Bangsamoro.

The BBL if ratified would create the Bangsamoro entity replacing the current Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). I

Iqbal said ARMM is currently getting P24 billion block grant, also as its national internal revenue share.

Lawyer Al Julkipli of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (OPAPP) who was also present during the round table discussion clarified the P26-Billion block grant for the Bangsamoro is the biggest among the items identified in the total fund the government would provide to the Bangsamoro.

Iqbal and Julkipli made the clarifications in response to a media query regarding the much ballyhooed and opposed P75 billion which the Bangsomoro will initially get from government once the BBL is ratified.

Confirming the amount, Julkipli however clarified the fund is an “aggregation of many items”, among others are the SDF and block grant.

Published reports however said, the government is eyeing a total of P117 billion for the implementation of the BBL during the first year based on a document from the House of Representatives. Half of the amount will be drawn from the ARMM’s annual budget and other existing national allocations and the remaining balance will come from new sources.

Meanwhile, Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, chief negotiator of the government of the Philippines (GPH) in a statement clarified that the P18 billion SDF for the Bangsamoro will be released in tranches.

The P7 billion she said will be given for the first year after ratification of BBL, the P10 billion in the second year to be paid over five years at P 2 billion per year. And the remaining P1 billion will be given to the Bangsamoro Transition Authority to fund the needed requirements of transition. She also confirmed about the block grant but did not specify the amount.

Figures on the financial concessions government have offered to the MILF recently surfaced after discussions of BBL at both houses in Congress were suspended following the death of 44 PNP Special Action Force members and 18 MILF fighters in the Mamasapano butchered police operation on two high value international terrorist targets. (PNA) CTB/LCM/JGQ/LDP