Cotabato City (July 29, 2019) — In a bid to lay down guidelines, priorities, policies, and budget preparation forms for fiscal year 2020, the Ministry of Finance and Budget and Management held its 1st Bangsamoro Budget Forum on Monday, July 29.
Minister Eduard Guerra of MFBM-BARMM said the Bangsamoro budget process is responsive to the systems, mechanisms, and strategic implementation of priority programs established during the transition period.
“We need concrete plans of our budget proposal for the year 2020,” Minister Guerra noted.
Guerra clarified that members of the parliament will deliberate the budget proposals unlike the previous regional government which had to present and defend its budget before members of the Senate and House of Representatives.
BARMM Chief Minister Al-Hajj Murad Ebrahim said the activity “is an important event not only for our offices in the government but also for the people that we are serving.”
Ebrahim was represented by Asnin Pendatun, BARMM cabinet secretary, in the event.
The Bangsamoro government recognizes the modernization of the national budget process to improve the efficiency of the processes such as planning, procurement, cash management, and payment systems.
They will also adopt the annual cash-based budgeting system to ensure the implementation-readiness of proposals through better procurement planning, programming of projects and activities, and coordination among ministries and offices.
Consultations and coordination with local government units will be conducted by different ministries and offices to guarantee that the Bangsamoro priorities are responsive to the local needs.
The budget proposal must be anchored to the 12-point priority agenda of the BARMM. It includes enactment of priority bills; integration of development plans; establishment of appropriate bureaucracy; continuity of existing government services; special programs for transitioning combatants; support for the on-going Marawi rehabilitation; development of enabling policy environment; activation of job-generating industries; enhancement of security; maximizing synergistic partnerships; ensure environmental compliance; and, exploration of the Bangsamoro economic potentials.
Based on the budget calendar, the final submission of budget proposals will be on August 30 this year.
Ministers, planning and budget officers, and accountants of the different ministries attended the said forum. (###)
