Secretary Anton Lagdameo, Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Secretary Benhur Abalos Jr., Secretary Raphael Lotilla, Secretary Jaime Bautista, Secretary Manuel Bonoan, Secretary Arsenio Balisacan, Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr.;

My co-chair Minister Mohagher Iqbal, Parliament Speaker Panglian Balindong, Senior Minister Abdulraof Macacua, Minister Akmad Brahiim, Cabinet Secretary Mohd Asnin Pendatun, Minister Naguib Sinarimbo, Minister Eduard Guerra, Mister Raissa Jajuri, Minister Mohammad Yacob, officers and members of the National and Bangsamoro governments;

Good afternoon.

As a proud daughter of Mindanao, on behalf of the National Government, and as co-chairman of the IGRB, it is my honor to welcome everyone to today's meeting.

And as a Maranao, I am delighted to see you all once again today here in the Malacañang of the South as we journey towards another milestone in the development of BARMM.

Since my appointment as Budget Secretary, I’ve had several engagements in Mindanao. First, during the Public Financial Management capacity-building sessions with BARMM Middle Managers in Davao; second, during the Mindanao League of Local Budget Officers Annual Conference and Seminar in Zamboanga; and now for the third time for this IGRB Meeting.

This time around is even more significant to me as I’m here during Mindanao Peace Week. The quest for peace, I firmly believe, is something that we must continuously and persistently work hard on. And today, we are enjoying this hard-earned peace. But in order to keep it—if I may borrow the theme for Mindanao Peace Week 2022—we must “harness our peace efforts towards solidarity in service.”

And that is what we’re doing today.

As an update, we had a successful Inaugural Meeting of the IGRB in October where we agreed to revive the rest of the IGR mechanisms for resolution of pending matters.

Then last month, we successfully convened and had a fruitful engagement with legislative counterparts at the Inaugural Meeting of the Philippine Congress-Bangsamoro Parliament Forum (PCBPF).

At this inaugural meeting of the PCBPF last November 15, we were able to garner legislative support from the National Government and Bangsamoro Parliament in pursuit of our Agenda for Prosperity for BARMM and Mindanao.

We assembled champions from the National Government—Senate President Juan Miguel F. Zubiri, Senator Loren Legarda, Senator Robinhood Padilla, Senator Francis Tolentino, and Senator Joel Villanueva from the Senate; Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Majority Leader Manuel Jose Dalipe, Representative Joey Salceda, Representative Rex Gatchalian, Representative Yasser Alonto Balindog, Representative Maximo Dalog Jr., and Representative Munir Arbinson Jr.

We also rallied champions from the Bangsamoro Parliament—Speaker Pangalian Balindog, Deputy Speaker Omar Yasser Sema, Deputy Speaker Abdulkarim Misuari, Floor Leader Sha Elija Dumama-Alba, and Deputy Floor Leader Raissa Jajurie.

Let me take this opportunity to thank the Bangsamoro Parliament for being our gracious hosts for that meeting.

Indeed, everything we’ve done up to this point is a step in the right direction for our shared goal of inclusive prosperity for the whole Philippines. Today, as we continue on this path towards lasting peace and prosperity for BARMM, Mindanao, and the country, I pray that our meeting will be one of many successful meetings in resolving the various issues relating to BARMM.

Inshallah, our time and efforts will never be in vain.

Mabuhay ang BARMM. Mabuhay ang Pilipinas.

Assalamu alaikum. Warahmatullahi Wabarakatu.