Rep. Adiong wants probe of huge sums deposited to Lanao Sur barangay officials’ bank accounts

COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 29 Jan) — Rep. Zia Adiong (First Dist., Lanao del Sur) has called for an investigation on the allegations of fund misuse after barangay officials in his province were surprised to see huge sums deposited in their Landbank accounts.

Rep. Zia Adiong Alonto (1st Dist., Lanao del Sur). MindaNews file photo by BOBBY TIMONERA

In his privilege speech on Monday, Adiong said the amounts ranging from ₱500,000 to ₱2.5 million were deposited to the Landbank accounts of 400 barangays in Lanao del Sur.

Shortly after, the congressman said, people claiming to be working for the Chief Minister of Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) came and ordered the barangay officials to withdraw most of the money, leaving only ₱200,000 from the deposit. “They claimed the money was for ‘special operations.’ They did not bother to explain what ‘special operations’ it was for,” Adiong said in Filipino.

If the reports were true, the lawmaker said it will erode the public’s trust on the BARMM.

He said many of the barangay officials refused to accept the money because there are no clear guidelines what the money was for.

Adiong said the money must have come from the BARMM’s Local Government Support Fund (LGSF)— a program aimed at providing financial assistance to barangays for development initiatives—which has an appropriation of ₱6.356 billion in the Bangsamoro Autonomy Act No. 56, or the General Appropriations Act of the Bangsamoro.

He pointed out that the Bangsamoro Budget Circular No. 10, Series of 2024, “provides specific guidelines for the release and utilization of the LGSF.” Adiong said that the circular “emphasizes the requirement for a special budget request from local chief executives before any funds are disbursed,” a requirement similar to the one imposed by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

“This portion of both circulars was clearly not followed, according to civil society watchdogs,” Adiong noted.

He said that civil society organizations and election watchdogs have raised alarms that the disbursement of the funds have been “arbitrary and partisan.”

BARMM spokesperson Mohd Asnin Pendatun, responding to Adiong’s allegations, said in a press briefing that they will conduct investigation on the alleged misuse of funds and identify the individuals who are dragging the Chief Minister in the controversy.

“We will assure they will face the consequences,” he warned.

In Cotabato City, the office of Vice Mayor Johari “Butch” Abu has been requesting the Ministry of Finance, Budget and Management-BARMM for a copy of the breakdown of the program and projects of LGSF after ₱150 million was deposited in the account of the city government in December 2024.

The Sangguniang Panlungsod said in the letter that their repeated requests to secure copies of the documents related to the fund from the executive department of the city have been ignored.

Adiong’s concerns in his privilege speech highlight the challenges of transparency and accountability in the BARMM, a region that has long struggled with issues of corruption and governance. (Ferdinandh Cabrera / MindaNews)