Gov’t not over-financing ARMM, Bangsamoro – Ferrer

The government is not ‘over-financing’ the proposed Bangsamoro regional government or even the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), especially if one will compare the projected Bangsamoro budget with the funds received by other regions from the national government.

Government peace panel chair Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer, said the 35 billion that the government proposes to give the Bangsamoro in its first year is only half of what is being spent by the government in the National Capital Region or NCR.

“Today, the ARMM gets about 15, 000 per capita subsidy from the national government. Compare that to the 34, 000 per capita that Metro Manilans get from the national budget,” Ferrer pointed out.

"It's ' imperial Manila' that gets the biggest share, if you want to put it that way," she added.

The per capita subsidy is the average amount that goes to each resident in the region. It is computed by adding all the national funds that go to the region and dividing the sum by the population.

Other regions which receive higher per capita income than the ARMM are the Cordillera, CARAGA and Regions 4-B and 8, according to estimates of the Department of Budget. Per capita in the Cordillera Administrative Region is at

20,500 while the three other regions' per capita subsidy ranges from 16, 000 to 17, 000.

Coronel-Ferrer said with the 8-11 billion new money that will go to the Bangsamoro if it is established in 2016, per capita in the Bangsamoro will increase to only about 18, 000.

The other regions are expected to similarly enjoy increases as well, if a new appropriations law is passed this year.

Ferrer also clarified that the powers and authorities of constitutional bodies like the Commission on Audit (COA), Commission on Elections (Comelec), Commission on Human Rights (CHR), and Civil Service Commission (CSC) will not be diminished.

These agencies will operate like regional offices or as supplementary offices in the Bangsamoro that will help strengthen the system of checks and balances in the region.

Ferrer also reiterated that the proposed BBL does not provide for automatic integration of armed fighters of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front ( MILF) to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), but they could apply and need to go through the rigorous standard hiring processes applied by the AFP and the PNP. (With a report from PNA)