MUNTREAL Maguindanao capacitates members

COURTESY --- Bureau of Local Government Finance XII OIC Regional Director Aida D. Abregana (seated, center) visits the MUNTREAL Maguindanao office for the first time during its monthly meeting last September 18. (GILMHAR A. LAO - MINDANAO EXPOSE’)

COTABATO CITY --- Selected members of the Municipal Treasurers League (MUNTREAL) in Maguindanao are slated to undergo Basic Operations on Local Treasury Service (BOLTS) training in Manila.

Engr. Tokan Brahim, president of MUNTREAL, said during their monthly meeting last September 18 that the training is part of their instituting professional development and capacity build-up program.

“This training is significant so that our municipal treasurers can perform well with their respective tasks,” Brahim said.

Aida D. Abregana, OIC Regional Director of the Bureau of Local Government Finance (BLGF) XII, said that MUNTREAL members shall also undergo the Basic Competency for Local Treasury Examination (BCLTE).

Abregana, who only assumed office recently as the head of the BLGF XII, visited the MUNTREAL Maguindanao office in Cotabato City for the very first time.

She said: “I am amazed that the organization here is very active.”

“The Department of Finance (DOF) is requiring all permanent and designated provincial, city, and municipal treasurers and assistant treasurers to take the Basic Competency for Local Treasurers Exam to make sure they are qualified for their position,” Abregana said.

Applicants are required to personally register at the Provincial Treasurer’s Office for municipal applicants and at the Bureau of Local Government Finance Regional Office for provincial and city applicants.

The BCLTE and the accompanying Ethics-Oriented Personality Test shall be administered by the DOF and the Civil Service Commission (CSC).

It was learned that the DOF, in cooperation with the CSC, aims to further professionalize and benchmark the competencies of local treasury officers in the spirit of good fiscal governance and local public financial management through a competency-assessment examination.

The exam is mandatory for all permanent and designated provincial, city, and municipal treasurers and assistant treasurers. Other local employees, particularly from the local treasury or accounting office, may also take the BCLTE as a qualifying examination, provided that they already meet the minimum requirements for treasurer or assistant-treasurer position as prescribed by the Local Government Code. (GILMHAR A. LAO - MINDANAO EXPOSE’)