The Mindanao problem is a concern for the whole country and the government will ensure the success of the newly formed Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said during the first BARMM Local Legislative General Assembly in Davao City on Tuesday.

Speaking during the gathering, the President said he insisted on going to Davao City despite his scheduled departure for San Francisco, California on Tuesday evening, as he cited the importance of the assembly not only to BARMM but also to the entire Philippines.

“I have said it before but I will say it again. I have never recognized a Mindanao problem. Whatever problem is in Mindanao is a Philippine problem and that is why it requires efforts of all government to make sure that BARMM will be a success in the future,” President Marcos said.

“With the activation of all seven mechanisms of the Inter-governmental Relations Body, a very important – there are seven offices that now have been put together that will serve as the basis for all the policies, all the laws that you will put together, that the Parliament will put together, even the rules and regulations for how the Executive will execute those rules, those laws that the Parliament will enact,” the President stated.

“This is the beginning of that process of creating the institutions that are necessary to avoid dependency on one group or certain individuals,” he said, noting that the goal is to institutionalize BARMM’s programs and initiatives.

“We are dependent on the institutions that will continue to work no matter what happens in the political sphere. It is not an effort that is only happening in BARMM,” he said.

“It is also a process that we are endorsing, promoting, and encouraging in the national government to strengthen our institutions. But there lies the way forward. There lies the way to a safe, progressive, and resilient future,” the President stated.

Both the national and Bangsamoro governments will now have greater cooperation, coordination, and convergence with the establishment of these offices, he added. Presidential News Desk