“Why are they asking for an extension when they can’t account P160 billion in public funds? Where are the projects?”
Transform PH Alliance (TPA), a movement for a transformed Philippines, raised these questions anew in a news statement distributed to the media on Wednesday regarding the Bangsamoro Transition Authority’s (BTA) request for an extension up to 2025.
TPA President Aio Bautista said, “All the BARMM [Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao] government has press releases announcing ribbon cuttings and plans, yet it’s been more than two years, so where are the deliverables, the finished projects?”
Bautista explained although there was a delay in the budget of BARMM in 2019, it was able to utilize the P30- billion funds remaining from its predecessor, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
“The multibillion-peso allocations with a whopping total of P160.8 billion were released to BARMM in 2020 and 2021, but why up to now, there are no completed projects?” Bautista asked. “All we are getting are only press releases.”
Bautista also disclosed that public-school teachers are currently not getting their monthly salaries for several months already.“And yet they’ve spent P6 billion for office supplies and materials in just one year?” he added. “Don’t get me wrong, our group wants BARMM to succeed, but it can only be realized through transparency.”