P8.3-B 2006 budget proposed for ARMM

COTABATO CITY — The government’s peace and development efforts in impoverished communities in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) hinges on the region’s proposed P8.3-billion budget for 2006 which regional officials will defend in Congress today.

Of the total proposed budget, P5.1 billion is earmarked for the salaries of all personnel of support offices and different national line agencies devolved to the region, while P1.8 billion is allocated for maintenance and operating expenses.

ARMM Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan, who took over as the ARMM’s fifth elected governor last Sept. 30, said he is hoping that the House of Representatives will approve the proposed budget without any cuts.

"We need sufficient funds for various activities that would convince the residents of the ARMM that governance, not rebellion, is the answer to our quest for peace and sustainable development in the region," the 38-year-old Ampatuan said.

All the eight congressmen of the ARMM, including Basilan Rep. Jerry Salappudin, endorsed last week a separate request by the Ampatuan administration for a P1-billion "supplement budget" for various projects to complement the peace process in the South.

"Never before in the history of the 15-year-old ARMM has these legislators bonded together and endorsed a request for a supplemental budget by the regional government," said ARMM Social Welfare Secretary Ruby Sahali, eldest daughter of Tawi-Tawi Gov. Sadikul Sahali.

It is the House committee on appropriations, chaired by Rep. Renato Andaya, that will approve the request for the P1-billion supplemental budget.

If approved, the additional funds will go to socio-economic programs in marginalized communities in Marawi City, Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, both in Central Mindanao, and the island-provinces of Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi.