President Duterte has decided to stay "neutral" on the proposal seeking to give the Bangsamoro interim government three more years to oversee the transition period of the new autonomous region.
According to Presidential spokesman Harry Roque, the President would instead let Congress decide on the proposed extension of the time of the Bangsamoro's transition government, which is set to lapse next year.
The decision was reached after the President met with the representatives of the two parties with opposing views on the matter last Thursday. Roque noted that the President recognized the position presented by the contending sides.
"Ang naging desisyon ni Presidente matapos niyang pulungin ng dalawang pagkakataon ang dalawang panig ay neutral po ang ating Presidente. Iniiwan po niya sa Kongreso ang desisyon kung sila ay magpapasa ng batas na pahahabain pa 'yung transition period para sa Bangsamoro Transition Authority (After meeting for the second time the two parties, the President's decision is to stay neutral. He left it to Congress to decide if they will pass a law extending the transition period for the Bangsamoro Transition Authority)," Roque said during a televised press briefing Monday, June 28.
In 2019, the President appointed the officials of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) to oversee the three-year transition period of the new autonomous region. He tasked the interim government led by Chief Minister Moro Islamic Liberation Front chair (MILF) Al Haj Murad Ebrahim to help promote good governance and rule of law in the new region.
Under the Bangsamoro organic law, the caretaker government is supposed to serve until the new regional leaders are elected in 2022.
The BTA however has appealed for more time for the BARMM transition, saying while reforms have been initiated, the three-year transition was not enough to achieve certain targets. Some local officials however expressed opposition to the move and pushed for the conduct of the BARMM elections next year.