COTABATO CITY – Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) officially turned over on Tuesday, December 15, the supervision of Cotabato City and 63 barangays from North Cotabato to the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILG) in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) during a ceremony held at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex.
In his message, Secretary of the Interior and Local Government Eduardo M. Año emphasized that ‘now’ is the time for us to win together.
“The future not only of the Bangsamoro but of the whole of Mindanao depends in every action and decision we make as Bangsamoro Organic Law implementers,” Año said.
Año stressed the people have spoken and their out cry for autonomy resounding loud and clear throughout the archipelago.
“Cotabato City and 63 barangays of North Cotabato, including DILG regional office properties, assets and records will be under BARMM government,” he said.
Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim stressed in his message that now more than ever, ‘we ask our dear constituents to find commonalities among our differences’.
“To choose hope over fear, to choose unity over division, and to work together in co-creating the Bangsamoro reflective of our shared stories as Moros, Christian settlers, and Indigenous communities,” Ebrahim said.
Atty. Naguib Sinarimbo, minister of the Interior and Local Government, said the turnover marks another significant milestone as “we gave meaning to the popular will of the people of Cotabato City and the 63 barangays from North Cotabato following the plebiscite last year”.
“In behalf of the Bangsamoro government, it is my honor to receive the supervision of the local government units of Cotabato City and the 63 barangays in North Cotabato,” he said.
Other officials who witnessed the historic event were National Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, DILG Undersecretary Marjorie Jalosjos, PNP Chief Debold Sinas, Department of Finance Undersecretary Bayani Agabin, who represented Carlos Dominguez III via Zoom, Presidential Adviser on Peace Process Undersecretary David Diciano, who represented Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. via Zoom, Grand Mufti Abu Huraira Udasan, Executive Secretary Abdulraof Macacua, and Education Minister Mohagher Iqbal. Provincial governors and mayors also attended the ceremony. (GALao, Publication and Media Relations Division, BTA Parliament)
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