Bangsamoro Parliament hearing on BARMM education issues to continue
Unauthorized bank account discovered
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The Bangsamoro Parliament is expected to continue hearings on issues affecting education in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in the suceeding days.
This developed as an unauthorized bank account was unearthed by an ongoing Bangsamoro Parliament hearing this week.
This account was allegedly maintained by the Ministry of Basic, Higher, and Technical Education during the tenure of Minister Mohagher Iqbal.
The hearing which was aired oline was conducted by the Committees on Finance, Budget, and Management and Basic, Higher and Technical Education chaired by Members of Parliament Atty. Kitem Kadatuan Jr. and Tomanda Antok, respectively.
Deputy Floor Leader and Member of Parliament Naguib Sinarimbo, in a statement, said the matter was first discovered during budget deliberations last November.
He said lawmakers discovered that P4.9 billion in unreverted funds were parked in a current account instead of the ministry’s official treasury account from 2023 to 2025.
Sinarimbo said this did not conform with the financial management system prescribed by the Ministry of Finance, Budget, and Management (MFBM) where unused appropriations should automatically revert to the Bangsamoro Treasury.
He said that the existence of a separate current account indicated a failure to comply with established treasury regulations designed to ensure that idle government funds are properly accounted for and returned to the Bangsamoro Treasury.
“The money that should have reverted to the treasury did not revert because it was placed in a current account instead of the treasury account,” he said.
Lawmakers warned that the practice could have broader implications on the ministry’s financial operations and capacity to meet obligations.
But the MBHTE said that a substantial portion of the unreverted funds has been returned to the Bangsamoro Treasury this year, with only about P1.5 billion yet to be transferred back.
The two committees are expected to continue their inquiry in the following days to establish accountability and ensure that funds are properly managed and safeguarded.