Mindanao’s problems are the country’s problems — Marcos

The problems of Mindanao are problems of the Philippines, President Marcos said.

“I have said it before but I will say it again, I have never recognized a Mindanao problem,” Marcos said during the inaugural Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Local Legislative General Assembly on Tuesday, Nov. 14.

“Whatever problem is in Mindanao is a Philippine problem and that is why it requires efforts of (the whole) government to make sure that BARMM will be a success in the future,” he stressed.

He emphasized that the administration will continue to support the development agenda of the BARMM to achieve sustainable and peaceful self-governance.

He further said that the government continues to promote the BARMM and seek help from other countries for support.

“We have continued in our contacts around – in the trips that I have taken for the government, especially when we are talking to the OIC (officer in charge), when we are talking to Malaysia, when we are talking to other Islamic countries, we continue to remind them that BARMM still needs their support,” Marcos said.

“And I have to say to their credit that they have pledged that support and we will continue to support BARMM and that is an important part of the success that BARMM is going to have,” he added.

He cited the recent visit of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan, where they signed and exchanged the diplomatic notes on the Non-Project Grant Aid for the acquisition of 6.8 million dollars-worth of construction equipment for Road Network Improvement and Disaster Quick Response Operation in BARMM.

“Because with these initiatives, we will usher in a new era where BARMM becomes a shining beacon of sustainable development in Mindanao and the rest of the Philippines. We venture together on this collective journey,” Marcos said.

Historic day

The Chief Executive said the holding of the first BARMM local legislative general assembly is among the first steps the country is taking to establish something that the Philippines has been trying to put together.

“With the activation of all seven mechanisms of the inter-governmental relations body, a very important – there are seven offices that now have been put together that will serve as the basis for all the policies, all the laws that you will put together, that the Parliament will put together, even the rules and regulations for how the executive will execute those rules, that those laws that the Parliament will enact,” Marcos said.

“So, this is the beginning of that process of creating the institutions that we all know are necessary. So that we are not dependent on one group. We are not dependent on certain individuals alone. We are dependent on the institutions that will continue to work no matter what happens in the political sphere,” he added.

He also said that the first legislative assembly is a landmark and a historic day, :because it is a measure of the progress that we have made over so many decades as we have strived for peace.”

“We have made some false starts. We have come to some successes. But we have never come this far. But it also reminds us how much work there still needs to be done,” Marcos said.

“The organization of a new regional autonomous government is something that we still have to learn about. It is something that we still have to study with the experiences of other people, other countries around the world,” he added

By emphasizing the importance of the assembly, Marcos even mentioned that he insisted on attending the event ahead of his US trip to participate in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit on Tuesday evening.

He likewise invited Filipinos to take part in forging the “path of progress, of inclusivity, and prosperity for the Bangsamoro region and the entire nation.” — Betheena Unite