COTABATO CITY—Newly-appointed commissioners of the Bangsamoro Youth Commission (BYC) are gearing up for youth development programs in the region.
During the Youth Coordinating Council meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 3 in Cotabato City, the BYC led a meeting that was attended by senior officers and representatives of ministries and offices to discuss their agencies’ programs towards youth development.
“The Youth Coordinating Council is the venue for coordination between the Commission and the ministries and other instrumentalities of the Bangsamoro Government in the implementation of youth-related projects, programs, and activities,” Marjanie Macasalong, BYC chairperson, said.
Macasalong noted that the council is a platform to avoid duplication of projects and programs relating to youth by the different offices.
It was on the same day that the youth commissioners took their oaths of offices and Moral Governance.
Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim officiated the oath through online teleconferencing. Ebrahim appointed in early January the five (5) commissioners for the region’s five provinces and opt-in areas.
“Today essentially marks our shared work towards providing safe spaces and involvement of the youth towards building a bureaucracy that is inspired by the long history of the Bangsamoro and the tenets of moral governance,” Ebrahim said.
The appointed commissioners were Macasalong for Lanao del Sur; Nasserudin Dunding for Maguindanao, Cotabato City and 63 barangays in North Cotabato; Moh. Faizal Alih for Sulu; Hamdie Tanjil for Basilan; and Pratima Samsaraji for Tawi-Tawi.
The BYC was created through the passage of Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 10 in April 2019. Under the regional legislation, Macasalong said that the BYC is mandated to be the primary policy-making and coordinating body of the Bangsamoro Government in all matters affecting youth.
The council meeting and oath taking ceremony form part of the BYC’s three-day En Banc meeting that started Tuesday, Feb. 2, and will end on Thursday, Feb. 3.
The En Banc passed various resolutions about the conduct of first youth coordinating council meeting, accreditation of youth organizations, and adoption of agreements between the commission and other youth development partners, among others. (Bangsamoro Information Office)
