DESPITE being autonomous, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Barmm), still faces several challenges in the safety and welfare of education frontliners, the Bangsamoro school teachers in particular. This is aside from the challenges the region faces in its socio-political aspect underlying the employment opportunities, health care system, agricultural sector, and the long history of resistance.
With this, to protect the rights of the teachers as the frontliners during elections, the Commission on Elections (Comelec) and Barmm’s Ministry of Basic, Higher, Technical, and Education (MBHTE) inked a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA).
The MOA is in line with the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) 2023 and pursuant to Bangsamoro Autonomous Act No. 35, known as the "Bangsamoro Electoral Code", in consonance with meaningful autonomy under (R.A.) No. 10756, otherwise known as the "Election Service'', on October 19, at Dusit Thani Hotel in Davao City.
The agreement, led by Comelec chairperson Atty. George Erwin Mojica Garcia and Barmm MBHTE Minister Mohagher Iqbal, also aims to emphasize the honoraria, travel allowance, and other benefits of the teachers in Barmm for their role in maintaining the confidentiality of voter’s ballot.
“Napaka-importante ng ating pinirmahan na mga dokumento sapagkat, education is so important especially to the people of Bangsamoro. Hindi na pwedeng wala tayong pipirmahan sa Bangsamoro. We are signing to affirm our commitment to our beloved teachers (The documents we signed are very important because education is so important, especially to the people of Bangsamoro. There is no reason for us not to sign anything in Bangsamoro. We are signing to affirm our commitment to our beloved teachers),” Garcia said.
The official also stressed that it is high time to respond to the needs of teachers in Mindanao by giving them equal attention to level the support that two of the major islands have.
“Lage po natin sinasabi sa buong bansa na ang ating mga guro ang ating mga bayani. Sila ang ating mga frontliners. Walang eleksyon na masasagawa ng Comelec kung wala sila. That is why we have to offer protection to our teachers not only in Luzon and Visayas but particularly in Bangsamoro. Nagpapasalamat po ako sa Bangsamoro government, sa MBHTE sa pagkakataon na madinig ang boses ng ating mga guro sa pamamagitan ng dokumento na pinirmahan natin (We are always saying across the country that our teachers are our heroes. They are our frontliners. No election can be conducted by the Comelec without them. That is why we have to offer protection to our teachers not only in Luzon and Visayas but particularly in Bangsamoro. I thank the Bangsamoro government, the MBHTE for the opportunity to hear the voice of our teachers through the document we signed),” he added.
On the other hand, Higher Education Minister Iqbal, in his opening statement, assured fair and clean polls this October 30 and that the MOA signing recognizes the crucial participation of teachers in the electoral process.
Currently, more than 800,000 teachers across the country will serve as chairpersons and board members of manual BSKE wherein they are expected to receive an honorarium of P9,000 to P10,000 depending on the position.
However, for Barmm, it has yet to update its numbers of teachers participating in the BSKE.
To date, Bangsamoro has received two major collaborations to uplift the quality of the region's academia and agriculture. The University of the Philippines (UP) System last September 13 affirmed during the first UP-Bangsamoro Development Summit Consultation that Mindanaons particularly those in marginalized communities of the Bangsamoro can now benefit from the transformative education system offered by the school as the institution is working towards making access to education more democratic.
Meanwhile, last October 12, San Miguel Corporation’s (SMC) largest shareholder, Ramon See Ang (RSA), bared that President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. personally reached out to him to collaborate on the expansion of the world-class controlled-climate Magnolia Poultry Farm in Barmm, which aims to elevate food security in the area. DEF
