Author: Nassef Manabilang Adiong

Devolution: BARMM’s Road to Moral Governance?

Authored by: Nashrolah S. Langco

Executive Order No. 138 mandates that local government units (LGUs) of the Philippines be awarded larger responsibilities in pursuit of the full devolution in response to the Mandanas-Garcia ruling, which demands that LGUs be given a larger share of the national fiscal pie through a larger IRA. As such, there is now a burden to capacitate said LGUs to take over some functions formerly handled by the national government in relation to the larger funds allocated to them. In line with the trend, there are expectations for discourse centered around the administrative and logistical implications of the said ruling. There must, however, have a focus on investigating and exploring the concept of devolution itself, particularly in the case of BARMM, whose goal is to inculcate moral governance as a framework. Devolution, and as a corollary political decentralization, might be a key factor in paving the way for moral governance.

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BARMM Parliament’s Policy Research and Legal Services in partnership with The Office of the Member of the Parliament Atty. Maisara C. Damdamun-Latiph and Support to Bangsamoro Transition (SUBATRA) has conducted a series of skills training on basic bill drafting to selected bill drafters of the offices of the MPs from March 22-29, 2022, held in Cotabato City and Marawi City.

Bill drafting plays a significant role in making quality and sound legislation. It is the stage where policies are translated into legal form. Thus, a bill drafter should have a strong command of language and be able to use precise words. A bill drafter should also be aware of the issues involved in writing legislation.

In this series of skills training, the participants were introduced to the fundamental processes of bill drafting, including stages of legislation in the Bangsamoro Parliament, the form and structure of a bill, and a resolution.

The BTA Policy Research and Legal Services (PRLS) and SUBATRA Programme have conducted a Round-Table Discussion on Legislative Research, Law Drafting, and Bangsamoro Analytical cases on Economic Development, Gender Legislation, Peace and Conflict, Non-Traditional Security, and Moral Governance last March 14-16, 2022, at Dusit Thani Hotel, Davao City.

The RTD presented and discussed policy papers from consultants specializing in various fields to aid in crafting legislation for the Bangsamoro Region. According to Christoph Wagner, who delivered the opening speech, the gathering was a good communication and starting point among various sectors: the academics, legislatures, and civil society organizations who have met to discuss relevant and critical issues [in the BARMM]. Furthermore, the RTD has primed the Members of Parliament, BTA personnel, and Civil society organizations on basic constitutional and legal requirements, concepts, methodologies, materials, and techniques to craft responsive and research-based policy research and legislation.

The participants have exchanged ideas during the RTD, highlighting the parliament’s performance, people’s participation, gender-based legislations, BARMM’s economic development, Mandanas ruling, peace and conflict, and non-traditional security among others. Along with that, the participants have expressed their support to the PRLS as they promote the importance of research-based policies and legislations, citing that “Research is the heart of legislations.” The activity ended with the expression of continuous collaborations among the Members of Parliament, BTA personnel, the civil society organizations, and the PRLS.

“Research is the heart of legislations.”