BARMM gets initial P5.3B under block grant

THE BANGSAMORO Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) government has received an initial P5.3 billion from its P63.6-billion block grant for this year, Assistant Executive Secretary Abdullah Cusain announced Tuesday. The initial tranche was received February 5, he said during the Kapihan sa Bangsamoro forum in Cotabato City. Mr. Cusain said this will cover the regional government’s programs and projects for the month of January, including the salary of BARMM employees. He said all the ministries and offices were required to submit their Budget Execution Documents, among other prerequisites, to the Ministry of Finance and Budget and Management on February 10. “A government is an organization covered by rules. Everything we do has guidelines that we have to follow,” he said. The Bangsamoro Organic Law, contained in Republic Act 11054, provides that the “National Government shall provide an annual block grant which shall be the share of the Bangsamoro Government in the national internal revenue tax collections of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and collections of the Bureau of Customs.”