COTABATO CITY—Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim convened his cabinet members, including three new ministers, today, March 14, to a face-to-face cabinet meeting to discuss priority matters in his administration.
New BARMM Cabinet setup
Before the meeting proper started, the Chief Minister officiated the Oath of Moral Governance of the three new ministers who recently joined the cabinet line-up.
The three newly-appointed members of the cabinet are Minister Atty. Ubaida Pacasem of the Ministry of Finance, Budget, and Management (MFBM), Minister Datu Muslimin Sema of Ministry of Labor and Employment (MOLE), and Minister Akmad Brahim of the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources, and Energy (MENRE).
(From left to right) Newly-appointed Ministers Atty. Ubaida Pacasem (MFBM), Akmad Brahim (MENRE), and Datu Muslimin Sema (MOLE) took their Oath of Moral Governance before the Chief Minister.
Prior to their appointment, Pacasem and Brahim were the Deputy Ministers for MFBM and MENRE, respectively.
On the other hand, former Cotabato City Mayor Datu Muslimin Sema, who is also the current Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Chairman, replaces Member of Parliament Romeo Sema as the minister for MOLE.
As they embarked on their journey in serving the Bangsamoro, the three cabinet members expressed their profound gratitude.
“I would like to thank the Chief Minister and everyone here for the opportunity to serve the Bangsamoro people,” said Labor Minister Sema.
The admission of the new ministers is part of the new setup in Ebrahim’s cabinet. They assumed office weeks ago, following the reshuffling in the cabinet.
Aside from the above-mentioned ministries, Dr. Zul Qarneyn Abas assumes as the current Officer-in-Charge (OIC) Minister for the Ministry of Health (MOH). The rest of the ministers were reinstated to their respective posts/ministries.
Discussion of other important matters
First on the discussion was the proposed 13-point priority agenda of the BARMM 2023-2025 presented by Bangsamoro Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) Director-General Engr. Mohajirin Ali.
The 13-point agenda contained salient policy directions that aim to sustain the gains and pursue the development direction, priorities, and strategies outlined in the previous development agenda.
“We hope that the extension of the transition period for another three years would give us enough time to accomplish all tasks and obligations inclined on us,” said Chief Minister Ebrahim.
As the meeting progressed, possible participation of the regional government in Al Amanah Islamic Investment Bank of the Philippines, as provided in the organic law, was also discussed.
Al Amanah, a subsidiary of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), is a universal bank authorized to perform and provide Islamic banking, financing, and investment services.
Meanwhile, an innovative feedback medium Community Monitoring and Actionable Complaints Tracking System (CM-ACTS) gained affirmative support from the cabinet members.
CM-ACTS aims to advance community feedback mechanism using digital platforms.
Other issue discussed during the meeting was the government’s bid to improve health-related services where status of several healthcare facilities was presented to the cabinet members.
On the last part of the meeting, Attorney General of the Bangsamoro Government Atty. Sha Elijah Dumama-Alba sought the insights of the cabinet members on issues pertaining to the Inter Governmental Relation (IGR).
Lawyer Alba also gave a quick update on policing in the Bangsamoro Region, wherein legitimate members of Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and MNLF are expected to join the police force once qualified. (Abdullah Matucan/BIO)
