Peace panels to create team to oversee ARMM-Bangsamoro transition

The peace panels of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) are putting together a team that would coordinate preparations for the smooth transition of government functions from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA).

In a press statement, government peace panel head Miriam Coronel-Ferrer said the creation of the composite team was agreed upon during the three-day meeting held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia last September 27 to 29. She said the team will be in charge of all the preparations in anticipation of the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) by Congress and its subsequent ratification through a plebiscite.

“The composite team will be made up of members coming from the central and ARMM governments and the MILF,” Ferrer said.

“The terms of reference of said composite team is being drafted and is expected to be signed soon,” she added.

Job loss fears to be addressed

Ferrer said that among the supposed functions of the composite team is to address the concerns of thousands of ARMM employees who might get affected by the transition.

“The Civil Service Commission and other relevant agencies will be consulted to ensure a smooth transition,” Ferrer said.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP)-Nagkaisa had earlier estimated that about 24,000 government workers in the ARMM might lose their jobs once the region is dissolved and replaced by the Bangsamoro government.

The TUCP-Nagkaisa said the Civil Service Commission (CSC) should make sure that the existing workforce will be integrated into the new Bangsamoro government through "lateral transfer and merit-based integration."

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos Deles said that civil service rules will be followed and civil service eligibilities and entitlements of ARMM employees will be respected during the transition phase.

“We imagine that there may be some reorganization of the governmental structures in consonance with the proposed ministerial form [of government of the Bangsamoro],” Deles said, emphasizing that, “certainly in doing that, there will be a clear plan, separation benefits if necessary.”

“We’ll follow the laws of the land. Certainly to those who have civil service eligibility, we’ll have different options open to them such as being transferred to another area or by choice, being separated with due compensation. This will all undergo due process,” Deles said.

Deles added that the transition process will only begin once the BBL is passed and ratified in a plebiscite.

BTA interim government

The BBL will serve as the legal basis for the creation of the Bangsamoro juridical entity that will replace the ARMM.

Under the Comprehensive Agreement of the Bangsamoro (CAB) signed between the government and the MILF last March, the BTA shall serve as the interim government prior to the establishment of the Bangsamoro government and the assumption of its elected leaders in 2016.

According to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPPAP), aside from the creation of the composite team, both panels have recently formalized the bodies and mechanisms that will roll out the normalization plans stated under the CAB.

These bodies include the Independent Decommissioning Body (IDB), which shall oversee the decommissioning of firearms of MILF combatants; the Joint Normalization Body (JNC), which shall coordinate the different normalization processes and mechanisms; and the Transitional Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) which, under the CAB, “shall study and recommend the appropriate mechanisms to address legitimate grievances of the Bangsamoro people, correct historical injustices, and address human rights violations through land dispossession.” — Elizabeth Marcelo/BM, GMA News

Over 24,000 Filipinos to lose job next year: TUCP

MANILA: Many workers in the Philippines and abroad are expected to be displaced next year, labor groups and recruitment industry officials has warned the national government.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) was quoted as saying by Philippine Star that about 24,000 local government employees are likely to lose their jobs with the setting up of Bangsamoro Transition Council next year.

“Workers employed in municipalities, cities, provincial and regional offices will be displaced once the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is dissolved and taken over by the Bangsamoro Transition Council,” TUCP executive director Louie Corral reportedly said.

“The major responsibility of the government is to provide safety nets for these workers who had been serving the bureaucracy quietly,” he reportedly said, adding that the Aquino government apparently has no not yet planned for the impending displacement of government employees.

He also called on the Civil Service Commission (CSC) to step in and take the necessary course of action.

“We are wondering why the commission has not geared up for one of the very important elements of the transition issue,” TUCP official Gerard Seno was quoted as saying.

Seno further said the CSC should ensure that the affected workers are integrated into the new Bangsamoro government using lateral transfer and merit-based integration rather than leaving their fate to circumstance.

Officials of the job placement industry have reported that around 4,000 Filipino workers employed in US bases in Afghanistan are also expected to be displaced by the impending pullout of US troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year.

They reportedly said about 4,000 Filipinos are still posted in Bagram Air Base and Kandahar Airfield and only around a thousand will be retained for maintenance of the military facilities.

Some of the workers are expected to return home starting November as their companies shut down after losing bids to supply logistics to the US forces.

But the workers are hoping that they will still be needed by international contractors hired by the US government, the recruitment officials were quoted as saying by Philippine Star. - The Filipino Times

Massive displacement of local, foreign workers seen next year

MANILA, Philippines - Many workers here and abroad are expected to be displaced next year, labor groups and recruitment industry officials warned the national government yesterday.

The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) said about 24,000 local government employees are expected to lose their jobs with the setting up of Bangsamoro Transition Council next year.

“Workers employed in municipalities, cities, provincial and regional offices will be displaced once the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is dissolved and taken over by the Bangsamoro Transition Council,” said TUCP executive director Louie Corral.

He said the 24,000 workers are the largest number of employees to be affected as the new Bangsamoro government becomes operational.

The government, Corral said, has the primary responsibility to provide safety nets for these workers who had been serving the bureaucracy quietly.

Corral said the Aquino government apparently has no preparation in place for the impending displacement of government employees.

He called on the Civil Service Commission (CSC) to step in and take the necessary course of action.

“We are wondering why the commission has no preparations towards one of very important elements of the transition issue,” TUCP official Gerard Seno said.

Seno said the CSC should ensure that the affected workers would be integrated into the new Bangsamoro government using lateral transfer and merit-based integration rather than leaving their fate to circumstance.

Also yesterday, officials of the job placement industry reported that close to 4,000 Filipino workers employed in US bases in Afghanistan are also expected to be displaced.

Recruitment officials said thousands of overseas Filipino workers are likely to be affected by the impending pullout of US troops from Afghanistan by the end of the year.

They said about 4,000 Filipinos are still working in Bagram Air Base and Kandahar Airfield and only around a thousand will be retained for maintenance of the military facilities.

Some of the workers are expected to return home starting November as their companies closed down after losing bids to supply logistics to the US forces.

But the workers are hoping that they will still be needed by international contractors hired by the US government, the recruitment officials said. - By Mayen Jaymalin (The Philippine Star)

‘Bangsamoro should regulate Lanao plants’

THE BANGSAMORO entity that will be created to govern a Muslim autonomous region should have the primary supervision and regulation of the hydroelectric power plants in Lake Lanao, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) said on its Web site.

Citing the delineation of powers in the Annex on Power-sharing of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB), the MILF said that the Bangsamoro entity would have primary jurisdiction on the issues of power generation in Mindanao.

“It is on this premise that such claim that the regulation of existing hydropower plants in Lake Lanao will remain primarily under the concerned national government agencies is not accurate, and, therefore, should be corrected at once,” the MILF said in an editorial posted on its Web site luwaran.com.

Miriam Colonel-Ferrer, the chief negotiator of the government peace panel, said that the Lake Lanao power plants will remain primarily under the concern of the national government during the Ad Hoc Committee hearing on the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) last week at the House of Representatives.

However, Ms. Ferrer clarified that power plants not connected to the national transmission grid will be under the regulatory powers of the Bangsamoro government.

Under Article XIII on Economy and Patrimony, Section 22, on Inland Waters, the proposed bill says that “the Bangsamoro shall have exclusive powers over inland waters, including but not limited to lakes, marshes, rivers and tributaries.”

The proposed bill further states that “the Bangsamoro Parliament shall enact laws on the regulation, management and protection of these resources.”

According to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), the current base-load of electricity in Mindanao comes largely from hydroelectric sources, which contributes roughly more than 700 megawatts to help meet the overall power demand of 1,300 megawatts in the Mindanao region.

BANGSAMORO COUNCIL WILL LEAD TO JOB CUTS

Meanwhile, labor groups have urged the Civil Service Commission (CSC) to step in and address the possible displacement of some 23,000 public sector workers -- most of whom are teachers -- in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) once the Bangsamoro Transition Council takes over by next year.

“The labor center expresses concern over the unknown fate of these workers who will be dislodged once the Bangsamoro law takes effect. We call on the Civil Service Commission to step in and take the necessary course of action,” said Gerard R. Seno, Associated Labor Unions (ALU) executive vice-president, in a press release.

Of the 23,000 workers in the region that may find themselves jobless, 18,000 are teachers.

“This is a significant number of public sector employees ever to be displaced in the course of Philippine government paving the way for the new Bangsamoro,” said Louie M. Corral, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) executive director, in the same release. “The government has the primary responsibility to provide safety nets for these workers who had been serving the bureaucracy quietly... They should be integrated because they are already an asset.”

For his part, CSC Commissioner Robert S. Martinez earlier said that employees which will be affected may apply for other positions if their posts will be dissolved. -- BusinessWorld Online with Jon Viktor D. Cabuenas