Education will be the utmost priority of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) to upgrade the lives of residents of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), newly-appointed BTA member Nurredha Misuari said on Saturday.
“We will prioritize more on education. There is a crisis in terms of education, especially in the BARMM area and I’ve seen it first hand when I went there on the ground,” she said in a statement.
Misuari is one of the 80 BTA members who took an oath of office before President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. at Malacañang Palace’s Heroes Hall.
She added that the BTA would also address issues affecting women and youth in BARMM as the interim governing body would conduct “more research” to promote and protect the welfare of both sectors.
“For the women, (we will focus on their) health, to protect their rights, to give them voice especially the young Muslim women in the region. There are issues happening during the pandemic. It has affected their mental health, as well as increased number of abortion, and young women having problems in their marriages,” Misuari said.
She expressed hope that the Bangsamoro peace process would continue to gain ground under the leadership of Marcos.
“It’s somehow poetic to think that the peace process started with Marcos, and Inshallah, with the help of Almighty Allah, hopefully with our collective effort, we will achieve success during the time of another Marcos,” she said.