The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) will serve as the coordinating body for a whole-of-nation approach to supporting the incoming elected Bangsamoro government, bringing together the DSWD, DOH, DOST, DOLE, DepEd, AFP, PNP, Coast Guard, and civil society to ensure the new parliament can stand up and deliver on its mandate.
OPAPRU Presidential Assistant and Undersecretary Noel Baraceros made the statement in an interview on DZRH News program The Situation Report on Monday, September 14, outlining what the national government’s role will look like as the BARMM transitions from provisional to elected governance.
Baraceros said OPAPRU’s role is that of a conductor: not a governing body itself, but the institution that ensures all national agencies play their part in delivering the support agreed upon under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro.
“Ang pagtulong ng iba’t ibang agencies, ang tawag nga natin minsan OPAPRU, para lang po tayong konduktor. Tinutulungan natin ang ibang agencies para mai-deliver po nila ang mga assistance and support na dapat na ibibigay natin base doon sa mga agreements na nakapaloob po doon sa Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB),” Baraceros said.
The presidential assistant said the normalization track of the CAB continues alongside the political transition, covering the integrated delivery of socio-economic and psychosocial services to communities across the Bangsamoro region.
“Patuloy pa rin po kasi ang tinatawag nating normalization as part of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro. So dito po sa pagpapatuloy po ng normalization, kasama po dito ang integrated delivery ng tinatawag nating socio-economic and psychosocial services na ibibigay natin,” Baraceros said.
“So for example, kasama po diyan ang suporta at services na kailangang ibigay ng ating mga agencies kagaya ng DSWD, ng Department of Health, ng DOST, ng DOLE, ng DepEd, para matulungan po na makatayo at ma-establish talaga ang bagong gobyerno ng Bangsamoro,” he said.
Baraceros said the incoming elected parliament may need significant support in its early months if it is composed largely of new figures unfamiliar with government administration, and OPAPRU is also considering how former BTA officials might help capacitate the new legislature.
“I think I don’t want to speculate, pero baka ‘yan po ang mangyari, especially kung totally mga bago po ang mai-elect. So ang unang gagawin po siguro is to capacitate ang mga bagong mai-elect. Of course, ang magiging mga bagong servant dapat ma-professionalize po talaga,” the presidential assistant said.
“So ito po ang tinatawag natin na kailangan pa rin natin ang whole-of-nation approach para matulungan po natin talaga na tumayo at maging matagumpay ang bagong BARMM administrative government. And rest assured that ang OPAPRU pati na po ang ibang agencies ay patuloy na tutulong upang matupad ang kagustuhan ng ating mga kababayan sa Bangsamoro for self-governance and self-determination,” Baraceros said.
