By Ali Macabalang
COTABATO CITY – Seventeen of the 123 local government units (LGUs) in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) are not complying with the full disclosure policy of the fledgling regional government, the BARMM’s Ministry of Interior and Local Government (MILG) announced this week.
(Ministry of the Interior and local Government (MILG) Bangsamoro /MANILA BULLETIN)
“On the Full Disclosure Policy of the Ministry as of first quarter 2019, we will begin publishing the list of non-compliant LGUs so our people may know,” MILG Minister Naguib Sinarimbo said on Tuesday.
Sinarimbo did not name the non-compliant LGUs but indicated their provincial locations in a table of data that he posted on Facebook.
The table showed that most of the non-compliant LGUs (9) are in Lanao del Sur, which has 41 LGUs including Marawi City. It indicated that 32 LGUs in the Maranao province are compliant.
The eight other non-compliant LGUs are located in Basilan and in Tawi-Tawi at four each. The two provinces have 13 and 12 LGUs, respectively.
The report table showed that all 37 LGUs in Maguindanao and 20 in Sulu were compliant.
BARMM Interim Chief Minister Ahod “Murad” Ebrahim launched last April the MILG’s full disclosure policy to require all LGUS in the region to publicize their respective periodic financial assets and expenditures in pursuit of his thrust for a graft-free regional governance.
Sinarimbo said the MILG table did not include Cotabato City and the 63 barangays in North Cotabato that all voted for inclusion in BARMM in plebiscites conducted early this year because regional supervision over such LGUs has yet to be formally turned over to the BARMM government.
North Cotabato Gov. Nancy Catamco visited BARMM officials led by ICM Murad last week and discussed with them the mechanics of supervisory turnover of the 63 barangays located in Aleosan, Carmen, Kabacan, Midsayap, Pikit and Pigcawayan towns.
Interior Secretary Eduardo Año and BARMM officials reportedly tackled issues about the seeming non-cooperative LGUs in the region early this month.