LAST week, the parliament of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) forcibly removed Mohagher Iqbal as minister of the Ministry of Basic Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE).
This was following the Commission on Audit’s findings of massive fraud in the agency under Iqbal’s watch.
The parliament’s Committee on Finance, Budget and Management (CFBM) findings at the end of deliberations on the 2026 BARMM budget reflected continued delays in execution and fund utilization at the MBHTE, including 75.21-percent allotment, 47.81-percent obligation and 44.04-percent disbursement as of Aug. 31, 2025.
The MBHTE’s budget totaled P26.49 billion, the largest share of the P114-billion BARMM budget for 2026, in a bid to prioritize education reform, higher education operations and technical skills development for the region’s population.
The report cited BARMM’s functional illiteracy rate of 38.3 percent, way above the national average of 30.6 percent, and the highest among all regions. The BLEPT performance of teachers in BARMM was identified as low-performing, with the region ranking 34th out of 39 nationwide.
The dropout rate in BARMM colleges reaches 90 percent, far exceeding the national average of 35.39 percent.
Only 18.7 percent of college-age students in BARMM are enrolled in higher education, the lowest participation rate in the country compared to the national average of 28.7 percent.
A total of 9,599 positions remain unfilled, while 36,773 ARMM-era items remain unmigrated, with Sulu facing critical risks affecting more than 3,000 teachers and staff.
Large numbers of volunteer teachers continue to fill workforce gaps but face low honoraria, lack formal recognition and lack institutional safeguards. The MBHTE does not maintain a complete database of volunteer teachers, hampering governance and planning.
Classroom construction showed mixed progress: 1,330 of 2,289 projects have been completed; however, many General Appropriations Act of the Bangsamoro- and Special Development Fund-funded projects remain unstarted or in procurement.
Classroom repair performance remains limited, with substantial backlogs and concentration of outputs under the Quick Response Fund. Delays in school building implementation are attributed to land disputes, unsafe working conditions, coordination challenges and complexities of national devolution.
Major supply gaps persist: 277,817 learners lack textbooks; 567,946 armchairs are still needed; and 757,379 learners have yet to receive learners’ kits.
The unit cost of armchairs, at P5,049, raised concerns that require justification and comparative analysis. A lack of up-to-date inventory for armchairs and weak tracking systems for learners’ kits increases the risk of duplication and inequitable distribution.
Numerous schools continue to experience delayed or non-release of the maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) due to unresolved designation orders, account issues and delayed liquidations.
At least 44 schools have discontinued MOOE releases due to the absence of designation orders, requiring immediate administrative attention.
Misalignment between physical and financial performance reports revealed weaknesses in data reconciliation and internal reporting.
The MBHTE reported P4.9 billion in cash-in-bank and P208 million in Bangsamoro Treasury System on Disbursement account from 2020-2023 obligated funds that remain unimplemented.
Actually, the issues concerning Iqbal have long been the subject of a probe conducted by the CFBM, the issues of fraud uncovered in the course of its hearings for the agency’s 2026 budget.
And as a measure to prevent a repeat of the said issues, the committee recommended that the parliament constitute a commission or body with the specific mandate to monitor the performance of each BARMM Ministry, Office or Agency (BMOA), including issues, controversies and significant findings that require appropriate action.
The body shall likewise engage an organizational management expert to examine the structural issues affecting each BMOA.
This corner believes it simply is the right direction. Though young as it is, we don’t want BARMM to be dragged in such controversies. And we believe BARMM can take care of its own.
