DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 09 November) – The proposed P114.1 billion budget of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) for 2026 – the last year of the extended transition period — is P19.7 billion more than the 2025 budget of P94.4B and P48.2B more than its first budget of P65.9B in 2020.
Bangsamoro Interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua submitted the proposed Bangsamoro Expenditure (BEP) for 2026 last October 30, the first to be crafted under his administration. Macacua was appointed Chief Minister in March this year.
This is the highest budget in the six-year history of the BARMM.
From P65.9B for 2020, the annual budget rose to P75.6B in 2021; P79.9B in 2022; P85.4B in 2023; P98.5B in 2024; P94.4B in 2025 and for 2026, the proposed P114.1 billion.
In his message, Macacua said the proposed budget “reflects our shared commitment to build a government that is Sustainable, Accessible, and Mindful (SAM) of its people. It is a moral covenant to serve with purpose and integrity.”
SAM apparently takes the after the nickname of Macacua, who is also known as Sammy Gambar.
He said the proposed budget “invests in education that empowers, healthcare that protects, and livelihoods that uplift,” that it “embodies our belief that the measure of progress is not in numbers, but in the lives we improve and the dignity we uphold.”
Education, he said, is “the foundation of progress and the bridge to peace.”
For the Bangsamoro, Macacua said, education is “not only a fundamental right but our bridge to peace, progress, and empowerment.”
Education remains first
Since the establishment of the BARMM in 2019, the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE) has been receiving the biggest chunk of the annual budget.
For 2026, its budget is P32.65B, out of which P1.6B is to be allocated for Project IQBAL (Improve Quality Education in the Bangsamoro Land), apparently named after Education Minister Mohagher Iqbal, purportedly to “enhance teaching and learning quality.”
On August 11 this year, the Commission on Audit (COA) ordered a special audit on “alleged anomalous disbursements” in the MBHTE.
COA chair Gamaliel Cordoba informed BARMM Chief Minister Macacua in a letter dated August 11, that they received formal complaints filed against Iqbal about the “alleged anomalous disbursements” of PhP1.77 billion payment made by the MBHTE in a single day and P449.2 million payment issued to a single supplier “under questionable circumstances.”
He said initial review “by the relevant COA offices” indicates that the complaints “merit the conduct of a special audit.”
The documents were retrieved from the MBHTE by the COA special audit team on the first week of September, escorted by police and military personnel. But CoA has yet to release the findings of its special audit.
For 2026, MBHTE is still number 1 on the Top Ten offices with huge budget allocations, followed by the Ministry of Health (MOH) with P8.6B and Ministry of Public World (MPW) with P5.7B. 77&
Among the 10 ministries and offices with the highest budgets, only MPW’s has decreased – and considerably — from P17.7B in 2024 to P11.4B in 2025 to P5.7B for 2026. Between 2024 and the proposed budget for 2026 is a P12B drop.
MPW budget down by P12B since 2024
According to its website, the MPW is tasked to “deliver basic infrastructure services through its programs, projects, and services” implemented by nine District Engineering Offices and four Area Equipment Services “as support to the social and economic well-being of its constituents” in Lanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Basilan and Tawi-tawi, the Special Geographic Area in North Cotabato and the city of Cotabato.
The MPW is in charge of “infrastructure planning, such as roads and bridges, flood control, water resource projects and other public works; maintenance of national roads and bridges, and major flood control system; and regulating the safety of all public and private structures in the region by adopting appropriate laws, policies and rules.”
Macacua said the MPW budget will fund road and bridge construction, flood control systems, slope protection, and new water systems in underserved areas.
“True progress is not only measured by economic gains or infrastructure built, but by how we uplift the most vulnerable,” he said.
Asked why the budget for MPW is decreasing, Macacua replied to MindaNews in a text message: “Bumaba dahil sa utilization rate nila” (Decreased because of their utilization rate). Macacua said the MPW’s utilization rate in 2024 was only 2.8%.
Health budget up
This is the first time in the six-year old BARMM that the budget of Health Ministry is the second highest, after MBHTE’s.
The MOH got a boost of P1.2B for 2026, from P7.4B in 2025 to P8.6B in 2026. In 2020, its budget was only P3.1B. In 2021, apparently because of the then ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, its budget increased to P5.1B. It went down to P4.6B in 2022, up to P5.8 in 2023 and P6.6B in 2024.
“Healthcare is not a privilege but an essential right for every Bangsamoro,” Macacua said. “Every family will have equitable access to essential health services,” he vowed.
The BTA Parliament’s budget for 2026 is P7.1 B, up by P1.8B from P5.3B in 2025 to P7.1B in 2026 while the budget for the Office of Chief Minister (OCM) is to be increased by P1.1B from P3.8B in 2025 to P4.9B in 2026.
The budget for the Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD) is up by 427.5 million from P3.8B in 2025 to P4.3B in 2026. In 2020, its budget was only P2B.
The Ministry of Interior and Local Government (MILG)’s proposed budget for 2026 is P2.1B, from P1.9B in 2025. Macacua is concurrently the Local Governments Minister.
For 2026, the proposed budget for the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (MAFAR) is P2.1B, from P2B in 2025.
For the Ministry of Human Settlements, it is P968.1 million in 2026, from P624.5M in 2025. Its 2024 budget was P1.1B while the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources’ (MENRE) proposed budget for 2026 is P973M, from P877M in 2025.
Macacua said the proposed budget aims to strengthen social services, accelerate development, and ensure continuity as BARMM transitions toward a regular government.
“Sa bawat sentimo, Bangsamoro ang sentro” (For every centavo, Bangsamoro is at the center). And in every decision we make, may it always lead us closer to a just and prosperous Bangsamoro,” he said.
“Insha Allah, we are translating our vision into action—ensuring that every Bangsamoro community, no matter how distant, feels the presence of a compassionate and responsive government, guided by moral governance and towards our vision of mas matatag na Bangsamoro” (a stronger Bangsamoro), he said.
Fund sources
Bangsamoro Parliament Bill 410, which seeks to appropriate funds for the operation of the BARMM from January 1 to December 31, 2026, proposes the amount of P114,077,644,141.90 sourced from the “annual block grant, other subsidies from the National Government, share in the National Government taxes, fees and charges collected in the Bangsamoro territorial jurisdiction, collections on regional taxes, fees and charges, and unutilized prior years’ appropriations.”
Under the National Expenditure Program earlier submitted by the Philippine President to Congress, the amount of P 104.6 billion has been appropriated and obligated for the BARMM in 2026, out of which P 94 B is automatically appropriated as block grant and P10.6 B as general fund.
Out of the P10.6 B general fund, P5B is for the Special Development Fund, an annual budget for 10 years, for the rebuilding, rehabilitation, and development of the conflict-affected communities in the BARMM; while almost P5.59B is the BARMM’s share from “Taxes, Fees, and Charges Collected in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.”
Where it will get the remaining P9.5 billion to complete P114B is likely from “unutilized prior year’s appropriations” whose amount is not mentioned in the bill.
The Committee on Finance, Budget, and Management will begin budget hearings on the third week of November to listen to representatives of ministries and agencies present and defend their proposed budgets.
The BARMM was supposed to hold its first regular election on October 13 but the Supreme Court declared the two districting laws unconstitutional. It mandated the Bangsamoro Parliament to enact “by October 30, 2025 a districting law that faithfully complies with constitutional and national law requirements,” urged Congress to “promptly enact a law that would reschedule the BARMM Parliamentary Elections … as much as practicable, not later than March 31, 2026 to ensure adequate preparations for the latter.”
At least four districting bills are pending in the Bangsamoro Parliament: Parliamentary Bills 403, 407, 408 and 411.
The Parliament resumes sessions on November 10. (Carolyn O. Arguillas / MindaNews)
