COTABATO CITY—The Bangsamoro Government and the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to the Philippines officially launched the five-year Php1.5-Billion Support to Bangsamoro Transition (SUBATRA) Programme on Monday, Nov. 15, at the Bangsamoro Government Center in this city.
SUBATRA Programme targets to help the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) lay the foundation for lasting peace and development by strengthening its institutions’ democratic governance capacities during the transition period.
It is co-funded by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development. It started in July 2020 and will run until June 2025.
Through this program, the BARMM executive, along with the parliament, judiciary, and civil society, will strengthen their capacities to drive and coordinate key transitional policies, exercise lawmaking, and oversight functions, adjudicate litigations, improve access to justice, and contribute to a peaceful transition.
In his message, BARMM Chief Minister Ahod B. Ebrahim said that SUBATRA helps the Bangsamoro region provide regulatory standards while taking a facilitative and risk-proportionate approach in all levels of its new bureaucracy.
“SUBATRA helps boost the capacity of our regional government in crafting transitional policies and strengthening our Parliament’s ability to exercise its legislative oversight, and representation functions during this transition period,” Ebrahim said.
Meanwhile, EU Ambassador Luc Véron reiterated EU’s commitment to supporting the achievement of lasting peace and development in the region, adding that “with the help of the SUBATRA Programme, the BARMM will establish an autonomous regional government that will address the many forms of injustices in the region over the years.”
In his first visit to Mindanao, Ambassador Luc Véron will visit EU development and humanitarian projects and engage with local interlocutors in Central and Northern Mindanao from Nov. 15 to 19.
Ambassador Véron said that his visit is a reaffirmation of the commitment of the European Union in the peace process and development in Mindanao through an inclusive and comprehensive approach.
Furthermore, Ambassador Veron noted that the Bangsamoro transition period is a timely opportunity for stakeholders in the BARMM to heed the lessons of the past and journey towards a bright future for the region, “leaving no one behind.”
The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA), and the Consortium Of the Bangsamoro Civil Society (CBCS) are the implementing partners of the SUBATRA Programme.
Through partner civil society organizations (CSOs), the EU is also working on Covid-19 information campaigns, which include the promotion of advocacy materials to inform communities on how to prevent the virus and cope with the pandemic. (Bangsamoro Information Office)
