The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has released P1.5 billion for various infrastructure projects in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

 

In a statement yesterday, the department said the allotment was disbursed to the region’s Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and would be charged against the built-in budget for ARMM under the 2013 national budget.


The release, which was made last March 26 -- before the election spending ban took effect on March 29 -- would finance the construction of national roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects, the DBM said.
 


Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad said the release affirmed the government’s commitment to spur economic growth in the region, especially after it signed an initial peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in October last year.



“The signing of the Bangsamoro peace framework signaled not just a new era of peace for the ARMM, but also the beginning of real socio-economic development in the region,” Mr. Abad said.



“Central to this is the delivery of key public services to communities in the ARMM, particularly those where armed conflict stood in the way of growth,” he said.



The development of the region’s infrastructure system, the Budget chief noted, would help boost economic activity there.



“With strategic roads and bridges in place, for example, we can improve access to and from the communities in the region and invite more commercial activity in those areas,” Mr. Abad said.
 


Under Muslim Mindanao Act No. 294 or the Regional Public Works Act of 2013, infrastructure projects in the ARMM would be implemented either by the ARMM-DPWH or undertaken by its district engineering offices.
 


The act also noted that all public works to be implemented would be distributed to the five provinces and two cities comprising the region, according to the projects identified by the regional governor, as may be recommended by local chief executives.
 


The government and the MILF are currently in the process of finalizing the annexes to complete the details of the framework peace deal.



The signing of the final agreement was earlier targeted in December last year, then was moved to March, and finally this month.



The proposed Bangsamoro region law should be approved by Congress, and enacted and submitted to a plebiscite among concerned residents. The process should be completed before the current administration steps down in 2016. (Bettina Faye V. Roc/Business World Online)