Bangsamoro Wali opens BTA Parliament’s 3rd regular session

 Bangsamoro Wali Sheik Khalifa Usman Nando (right) beats an agong to officially open the third regular session of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority Parliament on June 15, 2021. 

COTABATO CITY – Bangsamoro Wali Sheik Khalifa Usman Nando led the beating of an agong on Tuesday, June 15, to reconvene the members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority Parliament for the third regular session.

In a speech, Nando said despite the ongoing pandemic and a short period of time since its inception, the Bangsamoro Government has already accomplished a lot in terms of providing aid to its people, enacting legislations, implementing projects in the fields of health and education, and many others. 

He also called on scholars, datus, and local politicians in the region to collaborate to fully achieve development in the Bangsamoro region.

“We must realize that our progress is in our unity. Each of us is in a loophole. We are all responsible before God,” he said in Arabic.

“Be with us in the revival of our people, for our glory is your glory, and if we fail, you will fail,” he added.

Meanwhile, BTA Parliament Speaker Atty. Pangalian Balindong said it is necessary to allow the Bangsamoro leadership, headed by Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim, to finish its mandate and prove its worth to its people within a reasonable period of time.

“Let us give these revolutionaries-turned-parliamentarians a complete chance to realize their vision for the Bangsamoro,” he said.

“Perhaps their perspective, which is forged in the battlefield, is better than most of us, whose idea may have only been fashioned thru the ballot,” he added.

During Tuesday’s ceremony, Ebrahim delivered his report to the Bangsamoro people, which covered updates in the region, as well as future plans and priorities of the Bangsamoro Government.

He also provided an update on the status of the call to extend the transition period.

“Before I end this speech, I would like to share with you that although there are bureaucratic challenges along the way – the call for the extension of the transition period has never been more resounding than now,” he said.

He also reiterated that President Rodrigo Duterte and the leadership of the Senate and the House of Representatives are giving their nods to the extension.

“We reiterate, especially to the naysayers, that the extension of the transition period is never about power. It is about ensuring the successful implementation of the Bangsamoro peace process,” he said.

“This is not just the legacy of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) or of the Duterte administration but the legacy of this generation and a gift to the next generations of the Bangsamoro,” he added.  (BANGSAMORO INFORMATION OFFICE, MINDANAO EXPOSE’)