Disclaimer: This is an unofficial account of the proceedings based on IAG recording. The BTC Secretariat is the official documenter and custodian of all proceedings of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission.

 

This report by IAG, the third since its engagement with the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), focuses on the dialogue with experts and public consultation the Committee on Transitional Arrangements and Modalities of the BTC conducted in Cotabato City last month to generate insights on the subject “transitioning the bureaucracy from ARMM to Bangsamoro.” These insights will inform the committee in its formulation of the transitory provisions of the Bangsamoro Basic Law.

Report on the experts’ discussion

Laying the groundwork for a smooth and peaceful transition is the task of the Committee on Transitional Arrangements and Modalities of the BTC.

Opening the dialogue with experts, Com. Pedrito Eisma says the committee wants to draft provisions that will make the transition very workable. It is in this sense that the commissioners want to explore with the help of experts “the joy, pain and challenges of transition.”

Mr. Shinichi Masuda reiterates support of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to the task of the BTC. This, he says, supports JICA’s advocacy and work on good governance, institution building and service delivery in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao.

Also speaking for JICA, Mr. Alih Ayub says the paramount consideration in the crafting of the transitory provisions of the Basic Law is to ensure that services continue while a new bureaucracy is being entrenched.

“If we look at provisions and sections of FAB [Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro] and annexes, we don’t really see much detail on the bureaucracy but we can take some guidance and inspiration from the provisions that relate to the functions and authorities of the BTA [Bangsamoro Transition Authority],” Com. Johaira Wahab who chairs the committee says.

Once the Basic Law is enacted by Congress and ratified by the people, Republic Act 9054 is effectively repealed and the ARMM structure – its governing layers and bureaucracy – is deemed abolished.

The transition period will cover the period from the current ARMM to the establishment of the BTA, and between the existence of the BTA to the assumption of the members of the Bangsamoro assembly and the entrenchment of Bangsamoro government. This period is roughly over a year if the entrenchment happens in 2016.

The BTA is the transitional entity that will exercise all devolved authorities to the Bangsamoro, prepare the ministerial government, and set up the bureaucracy and necessary institutions appropriate for the Bangsamoro.

Com. Wahab believes the function of the BTA is not only to set up institutions for transition but also institutions that may exist even after the transition.

The Annex on Power Sharing states that civil service is among the matters concurrent between the central government and the Bangsamoro government. This means that the Bangsamoro government shall develop its own professional civil service without prejudice to the powers of the national Civil Service Commission (CSC).

The FAB also allows space for more funds during the transition.

The following are the concerns of the committee:

1. Reorganization of the bureaucracy

a. Line agencies and offices of the national government performing devolved powers

b. Agencies transferred to the Bangsamoro/turnover of functions

c. Transfer of personnel, equipment, properties and budget

d. Timeline for turnover and transfer/schedule of devolution

e. Budgetary support for turnover, transfer and operation of devolved functions

f. Personnel rights and benefits

g. Role of the transition authority

2. Carry-over of properties, assets, and liabilities from the ARMM to the Bangsamoro (BTA)

3. Initial organizational requirements of the Bangsamoro government

4. Annual assistance fund/”annual development fund”

Moderating and opening the discussion, Atty. Benedicto Bacani says the forthcoming bureaucracy will have to adapt to the fusion of executive and legislative powers – the essence of a ministerial form of government envisioned for the Bangsamoro.

The problem with the ARMM has to do with structure and the implementation of devolution, ARMM Executive Secretary Atty. Laisa Alamia says.

The structural problem stems from issues on the powers coming from the national government to the regional government down to the local government units (LGUs). This problem is compounded by incomplete devolution.

This devolution refers to powers from the national government to the regional government which has not been completed and the powers from the regional government to the LGUs particularly at the provincial level which has not been fully downloaded.

For instance, basic services on health, education, and social welfare should have been devolved to local governments on two premises: that the LGUs are the ones with the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) that could cover the costs of these services, and they are the ones supposedly delivering these services. This has not been fully implemented in the ARMM.

The incomplete devolution has implications on the programming and budgeting of the ARMM government and its regional agencies. The Department of Budget and Management (DBM), for instance, treats the ARMM as one agency. All other agencies within it are just part and parcel of this one entity. The ARMM is allotted budget under the annual General Appropriations Act (GAA) and that means it has to defend its budget in Congress every year. In the end, it is the DBM that decides how much goes to the ARMM. Whatever funds downloaded to the ARMM only cover personnel salary (PS), a little capital outlay (CO) and maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) for the regular functioning of the agencies and none of the program funds necessary for any agency to carry out its work.

Program funds are still being allocated by national line agencies to their regional counterparts; hence they are the ones determining what programs are to be implemented in the ARMM. This means that the bottom up approach to budgeting is not happening.

Ms. Alamia cites the case of the Regional Human Rights Commission (RHRC) to underscore the difficulty in devolution:

The RHRC was created through RA 9054. From the time that the RA 9054 was passed it should have been established already but it was not operationalized.

When the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) finally decided to set up a regional office in the ARMM, the DBM said the CHR cannot do so because the ARMM is autonomous. The same line of reasoning applies to other agencies.

The RHRC is a breakthrough, however, because “the DBM got its act together.” It approved the establishment of the RHRC and provided the Notice of Staffing and Classification (NOSCA). By providing for the creation of positions, the RHRC was fully established and completely devolved. The national CHR does not exercise supervisory function over RHRC. It is completely autonomous from the national government.

The setup wherein regional agencies negotiate with their national counterparts to download the funds to the region, though not the ideal, is workable in the current ARMM, Atty. Rasol Mitmug says. He urges the commissioners to define what exactly is the character and nature of the Bangsamoro because negotiations to devolve powers and functions could consume much time and a different formula for the Bangsamoro could be applied.

Ms. Alamia says it is prudent to name all the agencies that need to be created or devolved to the new Bangsamoro political entity.

Drawing lessons from the RHRC experience, Ms. Wahab says there is a need to convince the national government and the DBM to cooperate on devolution. The Basic Law could provide for the specifics but the incoming Bangsamoro government should have the prerogative whether or not to replicate the administrative structure of the national government once all the needed agencies are devolved to the Bangsamoro. According to Ms. Wahab, the ideal is to make sure that all the offices, functions and positions that are to be devolved shall already have been consolidated by the time the Bangsamoro government comes in so the Parliament would already have the prerogative to design the bureaucracy as it deems effective. The administrative code, once passed, would play a major role in structuring this bureaucracy.

Ms. Alamia points out that all other agencies from the beginning of ARMM’s inception should have been created this way. The national government should have provided a NOSCA for all regional line agencies. She enumerates the agencies with unresolved issues on devolution:

 

POEA devolution is highly irregular. It does not have NOSCA.

DOTC has not been completely devolved. For instance, LTO in the ARMM cannot register four-wheel vehicles. In Sulu, there is an LTO ARMM and there is an LTO that is under Region 9. The ARMM could have benefitted from additional revenues if DOTC has been devolved. Presently, revenues from the operation of airports go to the national government.

Under DOH, plantilla personnel on medical technology positions, rural health physicians, midwives as well as administrative support should have been provided but these positions have not been devolved.

There is a Department of Agriculture (DA) under the national government. The equivalent of this agency in the ARMM is the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF). DAF gets its funding from DA national. BFAR which is supposed to be a separate agency gets its funding from BFAR national. In the ARMM, DA and BFAR is one agency in DAF.

DILG ARMM has no control over Bureau of Fire Protection, Napolcom, and the Bureau of Jail and Penology. Under RA 9054 a regional police commission should have been established. This provision only reached as far as a draft policy that was supposed to be passed by the RLA.

DOH-ARMM is doing functions that are supposed to be performed by provincial LGUs. District hospitals, provincial hospitals, IPHO are supposed to be under PLGUs. As it is not the case, all health employees from the ARMM down to the LGUs are paid for by the regional government. There are no program funds. The program funds should have been provided through the IRA and the LGUs are the ones supposedly implementing programs on health.

DSWD has provincial offices in the 4 provinces except Basilan.

Other agencies with issues on devolution are POEA, NLRC, and NCMD.

There is DENR in the ARMM but there is no NOSCA for Mines and Geosciences Bureau, environmental management services, and PAWD.

It is the regional government that provides for the PS, MOOE, and CO of the DOT ARMM.

HLURB in the ARMM has no quasi-judicial function.

OSCC has been an issue from the beginning. There is no NCIP in the ARMM. The OSCC does not have power to delineate survey or issue CADT.

CDA ARMM does not have provincial offices because the powers have not been fully devolved; positions and budget were not provided. The same is true with CHED ARMM.

There is no POPCOM and NIA in the ARMM.

The ODA that is supposedly a sub-office of the RPDO is not fully installed under RPDO. Hence there is no process dealing with funding from foreign countries to the ARMM; it is lodged in the national ICC.

There are agencies that “are there in name only”, what the ARMM has done is create contractual positions and pay for these positions using local funds.

Ms. Alamia proposes that all the program funds for line agencies in the ARMM should be transferred to the regional government and should not be lodged in the national line agencies. A regional accounting office will be set up to look into the budget of all regional agencies.

Ideally the process of budgeting and creation of positions at the national level should have the same process in the ARMM. The ARMM has mechanisms like the Regional Budget Coordinating Committee (RBCC) and the Regional Budget Management Office (RBMO) for proposals and budgeting. The RBMO is similar to DBM but it tackles only local funds. The GAA, for instance, does not pass through RBMO. The RBMO will be part of the ARMM regional accounting office once the latter is established.

On the issue on budget, Ms. Alamia says the ARMM will propose for its final year of operations the highest possible budget as this will be the basis in determining the amount of the block grant for the incoming Bangsamoro.

A technical working group has been formed to look into devolution issues. Before it bows out in 2015, the regional government will try to bring down all the powers and program funds that should have been downloaded to the ARMM upon its inception. More devolution also means higher budget for the ARMM.

This is not an easy task, however, as line agencies are not keen on giving up their powers.

Com. Eisma believes this attempt to fully devolve powers to the ARMM will be a struggle against time. He worries that even if these offices will be devolved during ARMM’s last year, their funds will not be included in the 2015 GAA which will be proposed at least a year earlier. Inadequate funds could compromise the work towards the Bangsamoro entity, he said.

Another problem has to do with the oversight on how the LGUs are utilizing their funds. This oversight is lodged in DBM, not the region, because the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) has not been devolved to the ARMM.

For Com. Abdulla Camlian, the ARMM executive secretary’s pronouncements validate the long held belief that the ARMM is not autonomous.

“The stand of the MILF to never accept the offer of the government [during the negotiations] that is ARMM is correct after all,” he said.

Com. Raissa Jajurie shifts the discussion to another arena of devolution – the devolution of powers from the regional government down to the LGUs. It seems to her, that this devolution is also saddled with problems.

Ms. Alamia says there has been no actual attempt to implement this devolution for political reasons. The final attempt now rests upon the last ARMM administration. “[The regional government] wants to see if this is possible to also provide the Bangsamoro a concrete experience.”

For Atty. Randolph Parcasio, the failure in the devolution of powers from the regional government to the LGUs can also be attributed to the resistance of the regional government to let go of these powers because of a “false belief.”

“There is a belief that holding on to his powers would mean that the regional governor would retain revenues,” he explains. The revenue retained from not downloading these powers to the LGU is very minimal, Mr. Parcasio says.

Apparently, LGU officials also lack understanding on what law should be followed in terms of devolution. RA 7160 or the Local Government Code speaks about devolution, so does Muslim Mindanao Act No. 25. Then came RA 9054 which superseded MMA No. 25.

Mr. Parcasio believes there is no reason now why ARMM should hold on to functions and authorities that should belong to the LGUs.

He says another form of resistance comes from those who will be directly affected by devolution such as the municipal health officials. Doctors from the rural health units, for instance, said that they will resign if they will be devolved to LGUs because “they do not want to be subjected to the whims and caprices of local officials.” They believe that their tenure will be put at risk. For one, the LGUs cannot guarantee standardization of salaries.

Com. Alonto throws a question to the panel if the ARMM has a body or mechanism that resolves issues such as on devolution between ARMM and national government.

Ms. Alamia says a body with members from the Office of the Executive Secretary, Office of the Executive Secretary of the ARMM, and RLA was set up years ago to discuss devolution. Drafts of laws and executive orders have been submitted to the RLA but these were not enacted as laws. The present technical working group headed by Mr. Parcasio is looking into these documents now. The last ARMM administration will make an attempt to pass these drafts as laws to have a closure on all the issues raised on the implementation of RA 9054 before ARMM is abolished.

On conflict of powers, Mr. Parcasio says there is no mechanism in the ARMM that settles this kind of dispute. He proposes that the Bangsamoro create such a body.

Mr. Ayub wonders if the ARMM has the power to legislate to correct the apparent structural imbalance.

Mr. Mitmug says the RLA has plenary powers and there are laws created to restructure the ARMM but these are not being implemented.

Mr. Parcasio says restructuring the ARMM is within the inherent powers of the ARMM RLA. “In fact it has the power to legislate its own administrative code, local government code and civil service law.”

Mr. Bacani says it is important to imagine the Bangsamoro in terms of how the devolution should proceed. Instead of relying on executive orders, the Basic Law may provide for a “wholesale” devolution.

There are many things to be considered in devolving agencies. Devolution could mean adding more personnel. However, the fusion of executive and legislative powers in a ministerial form of government could also mean a leaner bureaucracy.

Whatever the case, there must be a basis for the reorganization. The BTC will have to weigh on whether this basis will be lodged in the Basic Law or in an interim administrative code to be approved by the BTA, or later in the Parliament of the Bangsamoro.

If the Basic Law is to become the basis for reorganization, the BTC should institutionalize by now the dialogue and consultation with the ARMM government for it to come up with a blueprint of the bureaucracy that shall drive the reorganization process. If the BTA is the one to imagine this blueprint, the Basic Law cannot be used as a basis for the reorganization.

The BTC should clarify at what point the reorganization shall occur: during the incumbency of the BTA or the Bangsamoro government.

On the issue of abolition, CSC NCR Office for Legal Affairs Director Alma Foronda says the jurisprudence states that the power to abolish an office is lodged in the agency that created it. The President is authorized to reorganize executive offices under his office, while LGUs have inherent power to reorganize themselves.

Ms. Foronda adds that reorganization is undertaken to streamline government for purposes of efficiency. Hence, the observation that the ARMM is a bloated bureaucracy can be a justification why reorganization is in order.

A valid abolition of an office is not a violation of security of tenure, according to Ms. Foronda. But once reorganization has taken effect, an order of rehiring has to be followed. Permanent employees qualified for particular positions come first, to be followed by temporary employees, and new employees and outsiders as the last preference. A placement committee has to be created for this purpose in addition to remedy dealing with appeals and decisions on dismissal of employees. Under the law, the separation gratuity will be in an amount equivalent to one month salary for each year of service.

The devolution of powers from the regional government to the LGUs is another decisive matter. Should the BTA pass a local government code in the interim to guide this devolution? Should it wait for the Parliament and let the latter come up with the Bangsamoro local government code? The local government code will be tightly linked to devolution and reorganization and will impact on programming and budgeting.

The ARMM government is willing to work with the BTC on the transition from 2015 to 2016, Ms. Alamia guarantees. She adds that the transition should start now with a blueprint spelling out who will be managing basic services and ongoing infrastructure projects, among others.

Thirteen departments comprise the ARMM bureaucracy. The national government under RA 9054 approved only 10 cabinet members to assist the regional governor, but it approved 13 departments to be devolved to the ARMM.

Certain departments have sectoral offices e.g. LTO, LTFRB, MARINA for the DOTC. Other agencies that have been devolved in addition to the 13 departments are the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB), Technical Education Skills Program and Development Authority (TESDA), and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). The Regional Planning and Development Office (RPDO), Office of the Regional Treasurer (ORT), Bureau of Cultural Heritage (BCH), Regional Commission Bangsamoro Women (RCBW), Regional Reconciliation and Unification Commission (RRUC), Regional Sports Commission Office (RSCO), Southern Philippines Development Authority (SPDA), Coordinating Development Office for Bangsamoro Youth Affairs (CDO-BYA), and the ARMM Development Academy (ADA) were locally created.

Some of positions in these locally created offices are funded by national funds, others by local funds. Some are dually funded (national and local funds).

These offices were created locally because their mandates are necessary but funds have been limited if not lacking. Limited funding means that these offices operations-wise cannot function well. Their employees are not permanent in status. Employees are either contract of service or contractual or co-terminus/casual, because there is no specific source to fund their salaries.

The entire ARMM bureaucracy has more than 30 thousand employees; the number of teachers alone is placed at more than 20 thousand. Many of the positions are devolved ones from the national government. The employees are mostly at the provincial offices of the different departments which were devolved to the ARMM. The regional government to this day is still negotiating for positions at the regional offices of the departments and the agencies that were devolved.

Ms. Lydia Mastura debunks the perception that the ARMM has become an “employment agency.”

“Program funds were not devolved so despite this number of personnel the agencies cannot perform well because of lack of funding,” she says.

Ms. Wahab notes that the emerging recommendation is to have a blueprint of the bureaucracy. She says the BTC may consider partly operating the ARMM during the transition leading to the establishment of the BTA.

The ARMM government is willing to work with the BTC to formulate a smooth transition. It has formed a cabinet cluster that will look into the transition in addition to organizing a technical working group that will deal on devolution issues and come up with recommendations on how the Bangsamoro bureaucracy should look like.

Meanwhile, the CSC can readily respond to two major concerns, according to CSC ARMM Director Ressurection Pueyo. These pertain to reorganization of the bureaucracy and personnel rights and benefits. The CSC has existing rules and regulations with regards to these concerns.

For Com. Akmad Sakkam, the BTC should be able to deliver to the people the kind of bureaucracy that they really need while ensuring at the same time that no employee will be displaced dishonorably during the reorganization.

Qualification standards must be placed on every position to be able to enforce some degree of meritocracy in the government, Ms. Foronda says.

The agency while in the process of reorganization can identify what positions need to be filled in. This can be the basis for hiring via a placement committee that will use certain qualification standards.

At present, ARMM in cooperation with the CSC has streamlined the hiring and screening process in a bid to correct wrong practices in the past. This practice is centralized under the regional screening board.

The placement committee for the Bangsamoro may consider the three hiring stages being practiced in the ARMM. The first stage is the initial screening that looks into the civil service eligibility of the applicant. If found non-eligible, the applicant cannot proceed to the next stage, which is a psychometric exam. The next stage is the panel interview wherein only those who pass will be considered by the appointing authority.

Once the appointment paper has been signed, another level of screening will see to it that the appointee passes the minimum qualification standards of the CSC. The appointment paper is then submitted to the CSC for authentication. The CSC determines if the appointee indeed meets the qualification standards. If the appointee does not meet the qualification standards, the papers are returned to the regional screening board.

An auditing system has been put in place to make sure all appointees go through this process.

Another pressing issue right now has to do with apprehensions on what will become of the status of the ARMM employees once the ARMM is abolished. Absent clarity on this issue, the government may consider making an estimate on how much it will cost for an employee to be separated or retired due to abolition of office. The whole package will then be multiplied to the number of employees that will be separated from service.

However, this separation package should only be given to personnel who will no longer re-apply. Still, even if an employee has not signified intent to re-apply the separation package should not be given until such time that the placement committee could not determine a position for the employee. If after evaluation the placement committee cannot determine a placement for the employee, that’s the time to give the separation benefits.

But if what happens is abolition and the Bangsamoro is going to be an entirely different entity where everybody can apply, wouldn’t it be a separation pay for all?

Ms. Wahab floats another scenario that is to let go of all employees but subject to holdover provision until their placements are filled in. The separation package will be slightly higher than the one month salary per year of service with the option to re-apply via a very credible hiring committee. This would cost the government a lot but this scheme would stimulate spending and could actually be a stimulus to the economy.

The scenario of dismantling the whole ARMM bureaucracy and hiring thousands of employees for the new positions seems a nightmare though, Ms. Alamia says.

Mr. Alonto says that the provisions on basic rights in the FAB assuring continued functioning of government should pacify apprehensions, especially from the education sector, that teachers will be dismissed. The transition authority will see to it that there will be no disruptions in basic services and that no injustice will be committed, he adds.

Mr. Alonto believes that it is also probable that functions and positions will be retained; changes will only go as far as nomenclature.

Mr. Pueyo points out that reorganization does not entail lull or obstruction in the services of government. The law, he says, provides that only when the positions have been filled up, can replacement or separation happen.

“The rationale behind reorganization is efficiency and economy. It does not say removal or addition [of employees]. It is now upon the initiating agency based on study whether to add or remove employees,” Mr. Pueyo explains.

For Com. Timuay Melanio, the reorganization should also be able to address the issue on overstaffing.

“If an agency has many personnel but [has] no program funds this is tantamount to corruption since they have no work to carry out,” he says.

Under the current setup, the CSC requires plantilla of agencies to determine positions. The CSC does not approve positions that are not funded by DBM. It does not have authority however on job order or contract of service as this kind of setup does not involve employee-employer relations.

Ms. Alamia invites the BTC to look at “how the ARMM is working and not working.”

The MILF peace track rejects the ARMM, “but it will be prudent to see how the ARMM works, look at the government architecture, organizational structure of all the agencies, learn from it so mistakes will not be committed in the Bangsamoro”, she says.

The whole Bangsamoro structure can be envisioned as early as now to determine what positions will be needed, what will be removed, and what will be retained, she adds.

Another major issue in the transition to the Bangsamoro pertains to properties, assets, and liabilities of the ARMM.

Ms. Alamia says an executive order has been issued for the transfer of properties that belong to ARMM but are managed by the national SPDA. A regional SPDA was created to comply with this executive order but no positions were created pending complete transfer of properties. As a result, there are ARMM properties that are still managed by the national SPDA. A committee has been created to look into these properties especially now that the national SPDA has already been dissolved.

On the controversial non-remittance of GSIS payments, the ARMM agencies have reached understanding with GSIS after high-level talks. The savings generated from the reforms instituted by the current ARMM administration were partly used to settle obligations. DepEd ARMM has paid in full; its employees can now apply for loans. Other agencies are also paying back albeit slowly. The target, according to Ms. Alamia is to pay all these obligations by 2015.

Com. Abdulla Camlian sees this practice of paying for corrupted money with savings as unfair. What, he says, happens to the accountability of those responsible for non-remittance of mandatory deductions?

Ms. Alamia assures that the savings were not spent solely for this purpose.

“This is on top of the cases that have been filed against employees and officials liable to the non-remittance of GSIS premiums and payment of loans. People might say this is unfair but the paramount consideration is the welfare of employees,” she says.

The lesson from the brouhaha on the non-remittance of GSIS premiums and loan payments? The Bangsamoro government should think over how the remittances would be done.

“Right now, DBM considers ARMM as one agency. For future remittances, we’ve forged an agreement with GSIS for DBM to automatically deduct the premiums – the employee share and the government share – to the GSIS,” Ms. Alamia says. There is another system for transmitting automatically payment for loans that are deducted from salaries to GSIS.

On the assets and properties of the ARMM, Ms. Alamia says there is a need for cooperation between the incoming BTA and the outgoing ARMM administration to facilitate turnover. The basis of the turnover will be the 2015 inventory of assets and properties. The Bangsamoro government should consider what will be the arrangements for properties outside the territory.

The BTC may also want to look into the legal personality of the incoming Bangsamoro, especially when it comes to liabilities of the ARMM. Ms. Alamia believes lawsuits ARMM is party to will be inherited by the incoming Bangsamoro. “But these are not major lawsuits,” she says.

Aside from the regular operational budget for the BTA and the block grant for the Bangsamoro, the BTC must also look into the inclusion of funds that will be needed for reorganization and other programs during the transitory period.

This fund is different from the block grant that will come once the regular Bangsamoro government is entrenched and the special development fund. The programming of the latter as Mr. Mitmug proposes should come not come from the national government but from the Bangsamoro government to underscore autonomy.

Ms. Alamia suggests that the BTC include program funds aside from PS, MOOE, and CO in the initial fund for the Bangsamoro. The BTC may want to review past executive orders dealing with devolution e.g. locally funded programs and ODA-funded programs/projects and see what can be incorporated in the Basic Law.

Mechanisms should be placed alongside utilization of these funds to guard against fraudulent practices. A good accounting process in the Bangsamoro should be part of its anti-corruption mechanism, Mr. Mitmug says. He emphasizes that different funds and how to utilize them must be clarified to avoid lawsuits as auditors may have different appreciation as to the usage of these funds.

The ARMM government post Maguindanao massacre has initiated several measures to curb corruption. For instance, it has imposed stricter rules on travel of cabinet secretaries down to their personnel. Rules and regulations by COA and CSC – and there are many of them – can significantly rid day to day operations of corruption if implemented properly.

It will do the Bangsamoro good if it will have a resident ombudsman or a solicitor general. The DOJ at present is not devolved to the ARMM.

Another proposition is to have a regional BIR that can help track and plot growth indices and economic statistics of the region. “Underground economy” or untaxed businesses is an issue being discussed right now in the ARMM.

“Underground players [if you can] make them surface can add to revenues,” Ms. Alamia says.

The Bangsamoro government should also correct “structural defects” as seen in the status quo. A good start is to assert that all funds from national agencies going to regional agencies should pass through the regional government. This is not the case in the ARMM right now, but the regional governor is deemed accountable, nevertheless, “because whenever the regional agency fails or succeeds, people look up to the regional governor.”

A recommendation for the Bangsamoro government is to have the national government, national agencies, and the chief minister sit in a project steering committee that will serve as oversight in the implementation of projects to avoid “blind areas.”

Still on the issue of funds, the new political entity may want to clarify its position on IRA in consideration of its authority over the LGUs. Should the IRA of LGUs be incorporated in the block grant of the Bangsamoro, the regional government the one downloading this fund to the LGUs?

For Mr. Camlian, all funding from the national government going to the Bangsamoro region including the IRA of LGUs should pass through the Bangsamoro government.

The ministerial form of the forthcoming Bangsamoro government will always have its pros and cons “but what matters are the people who will be elected into office,” Mr. Parcasio says.

The Bangsamoro government, like any other political structure, has to contend with patronage politics. A strong monitoring mechanism on personnel that puts emphasis on competence, integrity, and qualifications could serve as a “check point” to ensure effective and efficient delivery of government services and good governance. Feedback mechanisms should take advantage of fast advancing communications and information technology.

The Bangsamoro should be guided by the sad experience of the ARMM whose “failure” could be attributed partly to having incompetent and unqualified people in service.

In the coming days, the ARMM bureaucracy – its long list of what works and what doesn’t – will serve as a case study for BTC commissioners as they seek to finalize the draft of the Basic Law that once ratified in Congress, will give life to a new bureaucracy, the backbone of the new Bangsamoro political entity.

 

 

Report on the public consultation

Members of the Committee on Transitory Arrangements and Modalities lent their ears to the public in another round of consultation, this time on transitioning the bureaucracy from ARMM to Bangsamoro.

What will happen to ARMM employees – especially those whose tenure is covered by civil service rules – is a recurring question. The provision in the Framework of Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) that says ARMM will be abolished is a cause of worry for many employees, apparently. Below is the summary of interventions raised by members of the public during the consultation and the comments by members of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC):

1. What will happen to ARMM employees during the reorganization of the bureaucracy; whether or not they can re-apply under the new government; what will happen to the current positions, especially to permanent positions per civil service tenure of employment; what separation package and benefits will be offered to employees who will be affected by the reorganization?

2. What will be the specific role of non-government organizations (NGOs) and international non-government organizations (INGOs) in the transition in general?

Addressing the first set of questions, Commissioner Johaira Wahab says the BTC is still deliberating on what process will be applied, specifically, how to go about transition and reorganization of the bureaucracy. She adds that the BTC has consulted with experts from the Civil Service Commission (CSC) to ensure that the process will not violate rights of employees.

As to the role of NGOs and INGOs, Com. Raissa Jajurie says the two parties – Philippine government (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) – have already chosen 2 NGOs and 2 INGOs that will comprise the third party monitor whose role is to check whether or not parties are complying with their obligations as stipulated in the agreement. The GPH-MILF peace process requires an exit agreement, the basis of which is the report by the third party monitor.

3. When will the tenure of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) start?

4. A suggestion that the compensation for the option on early retirement be over and above the regular compensation

5. What will be the scheme with regards termination of services of the employees and the corresponding separation pay? What happens to pending and outstanding loans of employees e.g. with GSIS? What is the possibility for employees nearing retirement to be hired again by the new government?

6. A proposal to make another consultation after BTC has determined exactly how to go about transition and reorganization to enlighten the current employees of the ARMM bureaucracy

7. A suggestion that the rehiring under the new government be merit-based instead of the “palakasan system”; a group can be formed to look into performance of employees in every line agency

Com. Wahab’s projects that the BTA will start its term in the first quarter of 2015 to May 2015 at the latest. Whichever, the BTA takes over once the Basic Law has been ratified. Com. Wahab notes the suggestions on a good separation package for employees, and additional benefits for “retirable” employees. She adds that the BTC will have to decide on the process of termination, retention, and rehiring. She also notes the suggestion to make the rehiring performance-based to give fair chance to all. Another round of consultation with the public is likely to be conducted after the BTC has determined exactly these processes.

Com. Asani Tammang doubts the scenario of mass termination, saying the reorganization will most probably deal with the conversion of departments into ministries and changes in nomenclature; hence functions, including manpower, will likely be turned over from the existing ARMM bureaucracy to the new bureaucracy under the Bangsamoro government.

Com. Wahab concurs, saying that the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) states that one of the functions of the BTA is to ensure continued functioning of government and delivery of basic services.

8. How will the members of the legislative assembly under the Bangsamoro be elected? How will the different districts be represented in the assembly?

9. The turnover of devolved functions including manpower was not the case during the transition from the Lupong Tagapagpaganap ng Pook (LTP) to the ARMM. “Palakasan system” is worrisome during reorganization. Competence and qualification must be the overall guiding principle if in case the new government undertakes rehiring. What will happen to employees nearing the retirement age if they are separated from service? This set of employees must be retained so they can fully reach retirement and enjoy full retirement benefits.

Com. Wahab says the question on the electoral system will be referred to the BTC Committee on Political Autonomy.

The question on electoral system will include matters such as Bangsamoro elections, national elections, formation and criteria on political parties, and suffrage, among others, according to Com. Froilyn Mendoza.

Com. Abdulla Camlian says the idea of having one seat of representation for the Bangsamoro in Senate has been lobbied at the panel level. The Bangsamoro will pursue this in Congress, he adds.

Com. Wahab says “abolition” (of the ARMM) is the term used because the intention is “replacement” (which is Bangsamoro). But in making this happen, the BTC will have to painstakingly ensure continuity of governance and services. Com. Wahab notes the suggestion on employees approaching retirement, adding that the BTC will request for profile of this specific set of employees so that it can come up with a good package.

10. This intervention deals with the transition from the LTP to ARMM (specifically, the transition from provisional government to LTP to office of the regional commissioner to LTP and to the ARMM): The provisional government was abolished, the office of the regional commissioner took over and the former’s properties and accountabilities were retained. The office of the regional commissioner was abolished and was taken over by the LTP. A skeletal force was retained for the LTP. The BTA should consider this experience of retaining a skeletal force considering that there are 27,000 strong employees in the ARMM spread out in three island provinces and two mainland provinces. Will the BTA have the personnel to guard all the properties from the region down to municipalities? The BTA should consider subsuming accountable officers as the skeletal force e.g. (regional) permanent assistant secretaries, administrative officers, financial officers, supply officers, (provincial/municipal) directors, administrative officers, finance officers, disbursement officers, etc. as these will be the people who could give clearance to these properties.

The BTC may also want to reconsider use of terms e.g. termination vs. severance, reorganization vs. organization. Termination comes with it a bad meaning and what will happen is not reorganization because there is no rationalization plan for the ARMM and the Bangsamoro taking over is a totally new entity.

The nature of the Bangsamoro government must be very clear at the onset. In the case of ARMM, it has been considered an LGU, the same status of provinces, highly urbanized cities, and component cities. The Bangsamoro should not be considered an LGU, but at par with the administrative region so that the career officers can also be given the rank accorded to them even if they are not appointed by the President.

An accounting of all properties should be in order (BTC in coordination with point persons from the ARMM government) to include all real properties, movable properties e.g. vehicles, etc.

Another note is for the BTC/BTA regarding the 96 hectares Cabatangan property in Zamboanga City and to disallow Zamboanga City from making any deals with the BTA. The Cotabato City property must also be accounted for, clarify where title is, nature of the property (e.g. donation.

11. The term abolition or termination leaves a bad taste and must be clarified in the Basic Law. Unclear terminologies also send wrong signals such that if it is reorganization then the same employees will most probably be turned over along with functions. That the ARMM is a failed experiment should not be blamed on employees. In fact it is not a complete failure as there are also success stories. It is also good to put the spotlight on who controls the affairs of the region that is the central government. In the case of the Bangsamoro, what happens post Benigno Aquino administration? The processes and mechanisms must be institutionalized to reduce interference from the central government in Manila.

12. How to ensure opportunity in government service for qualified and competent indigenous peoples (IPs)?

13. What mechanism the Bangsamoro government will employ to eradicate graft and corruption? What will happen to political accommodations in the next governance?

14. The separation package should consider age bracket of employees, its dispensation must also be prompt.

15. At present, fire protection is not a devolved function to ARMM, what happens then to the status of firemen once the Bangsamoro government takes over?

Com. Wahab says the FAB uses the term “reorganize” but acknowledges that what is going to happen is “organization.” The organization of bureaucracy will have to happen because of the new framework for devolution of powers. Ideally, the agencies in the autonomous region should be reflective of the powers and competencies that the region has. Hence, the organization of bureaucracy should match this framework of powers. It seems that incomplete devolution in the ARMM could pose difficulty in the transition to the Bangsamoro, thus there is a need to study how to complete and schedule devolution in the ARMM.

The case of fire protection employees is another matter the BTC will look into.

The Islamic doctrine “hisbah” will play a major role in the campaign against graft and corruption. Com. Said Shiek says the nearest equivalent of “hisba” is the Sandiganbayan but it is more religious in nature, hence more relevant to the Bangsamoro.

“Hisbah” is an Islamic doctrine of keeping everything in order within the laws of Allah. It is based on the Qur’anic expression “enjoin what is good and forbid what is wrong.” (Wikipedia)

Com. Shiek reiterates the objectives of the MILF which are justice and good governance. He says the leadership of the MILF has struggled for the opportunity to effect good governance.

Com. Wahab says the BTC will also look into how to ensure a sort of an “ethnic balance” in the rehiring process.

Com. Timuay Melanio Ulama adds that the FAB ensures protection of IP rights, including the right over IP ancestral domain, tribal governance, and empowerment; social and human rights; and rights to cultural integrity. He adds that the IPs will naturally be the “first priority” in the rehiring in areas known as their ancestral domain but there will be “second priority” and so on to also give others a chance.

16. A suggestion that the BTC consider in the Basic Law enticing provisions with regards separation and retirement package found in RA 6656, RA 6683 and EO 366. A paper on this will be submitted to the BTC by an association of Maguindanao professionals.

17. Islamic moral values should be considered in the rehiring of employees besides their competence and qualifications to ensure a moral and good government.

18. A suggestion to look specifically into the status of the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) during the transition. The benefits DAR will contribute to the Bangsamoro are the primary consideration and not only the plight of its employees. This suggestion stems from the perception that the incoming entity seems not interested in DAR.

19. A suggestion that the BTC should determine what positions will be affected e.g. who will stay and who will be let go. Re-application will be difficult considering that the ARMM is not covered by EO 366 or the rationalization program. A formula was proposed for those who opt to retire: (for 30 and above years) 2.5 x basic salary x no. of years plus 3 thousand pesos, aside from the retirement benefits, 1.75 for the lower bracket, 1.25 for the next lower bracket, and so on.

20. Three years, not one year, should be allotted to the transition. One year is not enough to implement objectives and harmonize programs.

21. A suggestion to fast track documents in view of the approaching 2016 elections. There is a concern that the campaigns leading to the elections may politicize the transition. Another suggestion is to work out and institutionalize participation of Bangsamoro in the national government, including a representation in the Supreme Court.

22. The IPs are helping in the crafting of the Basic Law. The Basic Law must be just if it wants a just Bangsamoro society. Organizational structures must be transformed to make them appropriate under the ministerial form of government and responsive to the needs of the people.

The BTC notes submission of paper from Timuay Justice and Governance (TJG). It still awaits paper by Maguindanao professionals and proposal from employees of DAR. Other interventions can be coursed through the BTC secretariat at the email address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Closing the public consultation, Com. Hussein Muñoz emphasizes the need for the Bangsamoro people to uphold unity, solidarity and cooperation to achieve the objectives of the Bangsamoro in general, and the transition in particular, a gargantuan task ahead.

 

The series of experts’ workshops and public consultations by the Committee on Transitory Arrangements and Modalities is facilitated by the Institute for Autonomy & Governance and supported by Japan International Cooperation Agency.

The BTC Committee on Transitory Arrangements and Modalities is composed of Commissioner Johaira Wahab (committee chair), and Commissioners Raissa Jajurie, Pedrito Eisma, Maulana Alonto, Akmad Sakkam, Asani Tammang, and Hussein Muñoz sitting as committee members.

The panel at the experts’ workshop on “transitioning the bureaucracy from ARMM to Bangsamoro” was composed of Civil Service Commission (CSC) NCR Office for Legal Affairs Director Atty. Alma Foronda, CSC-ARMM Director Resurrection Pueyo, ARMM Executive Secretary Laisa Alamia, ARMM Administrative Management Services Director Lydia Mastura, RLA Human Resource Management and Development Chief Haritah Biruar, JICA’s Shinichi Masuda and Alih Ayub, Atty. Rasol Mitmug, and Atty. Randolph Parcasio.

BTC Commissioners Froilyn Mendoza, Timuay Melanio Ulama, Said Shiek and Abdulla Camlian sat as observers.

IAG Executive Director Atty. Benedicto Bacani moderated the discussion.

If you believe you have been misinterpreted, please clarify or expand on your point, and email it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the subject “Corrections”.