Development programs eyed for BARMM's youth

 YOUNG LEADERS. The newly-appointed appointed BARMM youth commissioners for the Bangsamoro Youth Commission took their oath of office: (from left to right) Pratima Samsaraji for Tawi-Tawi, Nasserudin Dunding for Maguindanao and opt-in areas, Marjanie Macasalong for Lanao del Sur, Hamdie Tanjil for Basilan, and Moh. Faizal Alih for Sulu via teleconference before BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim on Wednesday, February 3, 2021. Following their oathtaking, the BYC leaders, through its Youth Coordinating Council (inset), had begun strategizing relevant development programs for the region's youth. (Photo courtesy of BIO-BARMM) 

COTABATO CITY – Youth leaders in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) are eyeing development programs for the region that would benefit young constituents.

This came as newly-appointed commissioners of the Bangsamoro Youth Commission (BYC) gathered on Wednesday afternoon, February 3, at the BARMM center here to discuss programs towards youth development in the region.

The newly-appointed commissioners included Marjanie Macasalong for Lanao del Sur; Nasserudin Dunding for Maguindanao, Cotabato City, and 63 barangays in North Cotabato; Moh. Faizal Alih for Sulu; Hamdie Tanjil for Basilan; and Pratima Samsaraji for Tawi-Tawi.

Spearheaded by the BYC’s Youth Coordinating Council (YCC), the meeting also included representatives of the various BARMM agencies in attendance to avoid duplication of programs for the region’s young people.

“The YCC is the venue for coordination between the BYC and the various BARMM ministries and instrumentalities in the implementation of youth-related projects, programs, and activities,” Macasalong, concurrent BYC chairperson, said.

“The council is also a platform to avoid duplication of projects and programs relating to youth by the different offices,” he added.

BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim officiated the oath-taking of the new regional youth commissioners online.

“This gathering essentially marks our shared work towards providing safe spaces and involvement of the youth towards building a bureaucracy that is inspired by the long history of the Bangsamoro and the tenets of moral governance,” Ebrahim said in his message.

Endorsed on the BYC’s first-ever YCC meeting were resolutions for the accreditation of youth organizations in the region and the adoption of agreements between the commission and other youth development partners.

Created by the Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 10 in April 2019, the BYC is mandated to be the primary policy-making and coordinating body of the BARMM in all matters affecting the youth. (Noel Punzalan, PNA)