COTABATO CITY – A bill has been filed in the Bangsamoro Parliament seeking to establish a gratuity fund to provide financial assistance to employees of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) who will separate from service once the transition period ends.
Parliament Bill No. 405, or the BTA Gratuity Fund Act, filed by Member of the Parliament Susana Anayatin, recognizes the service of permanent, contractual, and co-terminous employees who have contributed to the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Eligible employees would receive a one-time financial benefit equivalent to one month’s salary for every year of service, with at least six months of service counted as a full year.
The measure is patterned after a similar arrangement during the 2019 dissolution of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), when the national government allocated P500 million for separation benefits of former ARMM employees. The Ministry of Finance, Budget and Management (MFBM) would administer the fund in coordination with the Human Resource Management Unit (HRMU) and the Civil Service Commission for BARMM to ensure proper validation, computation, and release of gratuity payments. (LTAIS-Public Information, Publication, and Media Relations Division)
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