THE House Committee on Public Accounts yesterday gave officials of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) led by regional parliament Speaker Pangalian Balindong, a former House deputy speaker, another chance to attend its hearing into the alleged irregularities in the use of the region’s local government support fund (LGSF) because of the Ramadan season.
The panel, chaired by Rep. Joseph Stephen Paduano (PL, Abang Lingkod), deferred citing the BARMM officials in contempt and ordering their arrest after they respectfully asked to be excused from attending “because of the ongoing Ramadan.”
“I think it’s a valid reason,” Paduano told Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman, who inquired about the attendance of the summoned BARMM officials.
The BARMM officials were issued show-cause orders last month after they skipped the hearing into the questionable P6.4 billion releases of the regional government to favored barangays.
Paduano, however, acknowledged that several Muslim mayors, other officials and lawmakers attended his panel’s hearing despite the observance of Ramadan.
Hataman said Islam does not prohibit Muslims from doing their duties or their daily activities during the holy month of Ramadan.
“Kami rin ho ay nagpa-fasting, pero nandito kami, ginagawa namin ang aming trabaho (We’re also fasting but we’re here, we’re doing our jobs),” he said, as he thanked the other Muslim officials for cooperating with the hearing.
Hataman asked Paduano if the BARMM officials are no longer questioning the panel’s oversight powers, which prompted the chairman to stress that the constitutional mandate of the House to conduct inquiries in aid of legislation extends to the BARMM, pointing out that it was also Congress that created it.
“But let us hear it from them (BARMM officials) when they finally show up here,” he said.
Balindong and his fellow BARMM officials told the panel in their letters to the panel last month that they chose not to appear in the committee’s initial hearing since the regional parliament is already conducting its inquiry.
Hedjarah Mangompia-Said of the BARMM Commission on Audit office told the committee last hearing that the regional government had released a total of P6.4 billion in LGSF funds from August 2024 up to last month. She said auditors are now examining the use of the funds.
In his privilege speech which led to the inquiry, Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto-Adiong said the BARMM office of the Chief Minister released LGSF funds amounting from P500,000 to P2.5 million to several barangays without any request from village officials.
Adiong cited reports that the Land Bank of the Philippines accounts of 400 barangay officials in Lanao del Sur received huge sums of money. He said certain individuals claiming to be from BARMM later asked these officials to withdraw the funds, turn over the money to them and leave a measly P200,000.
The lawmaker said that as allegedly per BARMM leadership’s instructions, the money was earmarked for “special operations,” which he said officials could not explain.
Adiong initially suspected the funds could have been sourced from the local government support fund where P6.3 billion has been allocated to BARMM under the Bangsamoro Autonomy Act 56, or the General Appropriations Act of the Bangsamoro.
He said Bangsamoro Budget Circular 10 (Series of 2024), along with the DBM Local Budget Circular 155 (Series of 2024), “provide specific guidelines for the release and utilization of the LGSF.”
