Lawmakers seeking probe of BARMM funds, cite ‘misuse’
Several House members from Mindanao on Monday called for a congressional inquiry into the alleged misuse of some P6.356 billion in public funds by the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) interim parliament.
House Resolution No. 2199 sought the probe on the block grant supposedly being denied to local government units (LGUs) not allied with the political party of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), whose leaders hold key positions in the Bangsamoro Parliament.
The resolution was signed by House Deputy Speaker Yasser Balindong (Lanao del Sur), Assistant Majority Leader Zia Adiong (Lanao del Sur), Deputy Minority Leader Mujiv Hataman (Basilan), Rep. Samier Tan (Sulu), Rep. Mohamad Paglas (Maguindanao del Sur) and party list Rep. Shernee Tan-Tambut (Kusug Tausug).
The lawmakers cited allegations of irregularities in the BARMM government from concerned citizens and civil society groups, claiming the misuse of the P6.356-billion Local Government Support Fund (LGSF) or block grant from the national government incorporated in the P98.5-billion 2024 General Appropriations Act of the Bangsamoro (GAAB).
According to the lawmakers, the LGSF was to be “exclusively used by the beneficiary local government units to fund the eligible programs and projects” they identified, some of them enumerated in the financial year 2024 GAAB. However, they said, “reports from concerned citizens and civil society organizations in the BARMM ultimately seek the national government agencies as well as this august body to look into the alleged misuse of public funds particularly on the misuse of the LGSF of the Bangsamoro government.”
“Testimonies have raised further concerns about governance and management of public resources in the Bangsamoro Government,” they added.
‘Not true’
Sought for comment, BARMM government spokesperson Mohd Asnin Pendatun said on Monday that Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim had actually ordered an investigation on the alleged fund misuse immediately after he learned of the issue in January.
According to Pendatun, “Chief Minister Ebrahim is very concerned about this report, he [has] ordered an investigation and it is still ongoing.”
“The claim about the funds, if these refer to LGSF, not given to LGUs not allied with the MILF political party, is not true,” Pendatun said, adding that the approval and release of the LGSF funds was based on the request of the LGUs and their compliance with the mandatory process and the completeness of the documents they submitted.
He cited the case of the eight newly created towns in the BARMM’s Special Geographic Area, which had no tax allocation from the national government and had no funds for operation from the BARMM but whose operations for the year had been provided by the LGSF funds.
Pendatun also described as baseless the allegations involving some personnel from the Office of the Chief Minister (OCM) receiving money from barangay captains.
According to reports circulating on social media and also the subject of privilege speech by Adiong, some village chairs were told that an amount of P500,000 to P2.5 million had been deposited to their bank accounts for still unknown projects.
The village officials were reportedly asked to withdraw the money, take the P200,000 cash and hand over the rest of the amount to the OCM personnel.
“These are unfounded rumors aimed at destroying the image of the BARMM,” Pendatun said.
Unexplained fund transfer
The lawmakers, however, maintained that several Lanao del Sur barangays, through bank transfers, did receive the amounts from P500,000 to P2.5 million from the OCM, claiming, “these funds are being transferred to the bank accounts” of the barangays.
“Such transfer of funds was without notice to the concerned [barangays] nor was it requested by the [barangay] itself,” they said.
They added that the barangays “neither have an idea nor an orientation as to the proper utilization of the transferred funds or even why such funds were transferred to its bank accounts in the first place.”
According to the lawmakers, after the fund transfers, the barangay captains were asked by Bangsamoro government officials allegedly to withdraw the amounts transferred to them, leaving only P200,000 for “special operations.”
The legislators claimed, “The LGSF is being used as a tool for political gain by allowing access only to LGUs that are aligned with the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP), the political party of the MILF, and designating these LGUs to become recipients of the fund.”
They also claimed that “the LGUs that are identified as not belonging to or supporting the UBJP such as the provinces of Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Sur were denied access to this fund.” Most of the LGUs in the two provinces are allied with the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats party.
The lawmakers alleged that the Bangsamoro government released the funds in the latter part of 2024 to be “used for political advancement” of its leaders’ political party in the coming midterm polls and the Bangsamoro Parliament elections (BPE), both set for May. (The House and Senate both have pending bills to postpone the BPE, which has been certified as urgent by President Marcos.)
“These allegations, if proven true, constitute grave breaches of public trust, dereliction of duty and misuse of authority, undermining the principles of transparency, efficiency and accountability enshrined in the Constitution and other relevant laws,” they stressed, pointing out that the alleged acts constitute violations of Republic Act No. 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
The legislators asserted, “These potential violations highlight serious lapses in financial management which undermine public trust and confidence in the Bangsamoro government and necessitates legislative action to ensure accountability and adherence to applicable laws.”
In seeking the congressional inquiry, they said that the House “must ensure [that] measures are taken to address these lapses and prevent similar incidents, thereby safeguarding public funds and promoting the efficient and transparent use of government resources for the welfare of the people.”
