Duterte to grace BTA inauguration

ZAMBOANGA CIY – President Rodrigo Duterte is scheduled to attend Friday the inauguration ceremony of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) – the interim government in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region during the transition period.

Al-Hajj Murad Ebrahim, Bangsamoro Government chief minister, said members of the BTA will take their oath before the Qur’an during the inauguration ceremony today at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex in Cotabato City.

“We started the jihad with an oath before the Qur’an, and we will also take an oath before the Qur’an as we start our governance,” Ebrahim said.

Ebrahim is expected to submit to the BTA the transition plan that will cover the proposed organizational plan of the regional bureaucracy and its implementation schedule.

The BTA by a majority vote of all its members may approve or otherwise act on the proposed transition plan within 10 days upon submission by the chief minister.

The BTA includes the 41 members nominated by the MILF, 39 nominees of the National Government, and the elected officials of the now abolished Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

It will serve as government of the new autonomous region until the election and constitution of the Bangsamoro Parliament in 2022.

Among the BTA’s priorities will be the passage of important legislations such as the Bangsamoro Administrative Code, Bangsamoro Revenue Code, Bangsamoro Electoral Code, Bangsamoro Local Government Code, and the Bangsamoro Education Code.

Thousands of supporters of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are expected to gather at the venue to observe the inauguration ceremony.