ARMM to subsidize 12 IRA-less towns

COTABATO CITY, Philippines   â€“ The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is ready to provide a P500,000 monthly stipend for its 12 towns that do not receive the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) from the national government.

Most of the towns are located in Maguindanao, created between 2007 and 2009 by the ARMM’s regional legislative assembly (RLA), said to be the “Little Congress” of the autonomous region.

The 12 towns have been dependent on the cash assistance provided by the Department of Budget and Management.

ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman said he would meet with the towns’ executives to discuss how the monthly P500,000 stipend could be facilitated from the ARMM coffers.

“I will have to make them promise that they will do everything to prevent absenteeism among their ranks. I just want to make sure they will continue to strive hard for their local government units to function at all times,” Hataman said.

A member of the RLA, Maguindanao Assemblyman Khadafeh Mangudadatu, expressed elation over Hataman’s gesture.

“That’s a big help for these 12 towns that are existing, operating without any IRA,” Mangudadatu said.

Mangudadatu was a proponent of an RLA resolution that urges the national government to grant the towns a share in the IRA.

The resolution, which was approved last month, stressed the need for the IRA to enable the 12 municipal governments to deliver services to the people.