COTABATO CITY (December 13, 2022)—The Bangsamoro Youth Coordinating Council (BYCC) adopted several policy recommendations during its second meeting chaired by the Bangsamoro Youth Commission (BYC) on Monday, Dec. 12, in Cotabato City.
BYC Chairperson Marjanie Mimbantas Macasalong, who presided over the Council meeting, said the policy recommendations aim to address youth issues and concerns identified by the BYCC member ministries, offices and agencies.
The adopted policies include the promotion of Bangsamoro cultural heritage to the youth, encouragement of concerned Bangsamoro offices to include agri-fisheries and sports development programs for youth, institutionalizing tree planting programs and environmental awareness in the Bangsamoro region, and formulation of scholarship guidelines for the youth, among others.
During the meeting, BYC presented the Bangsamoro Youth Parliament (BYP) 2022 bills and resolutions and the Commission’s Policy Development Manual and were formally adopted by the Council.
BYC Commissioner Nasserudin Dunding, who seats as the Council’s Head Secretariat, said the Manual will lay the foundations of the Commission that knows which appropriate road it will take and which policy direction it will set forth for the ministries, agencies, and offices implementing programs relevant to our Bangsamoro youth.
Held twice a year, the BYCC meeting serves as the venue for coordination between the BYC and the ministries and other instrumentalities of the Bangsamoro Government in the implementation of youth-related projects, programs and activities.
The first BYCC meeting for 2022 was held on April 7, in which the Council members presented and discussed their planned youth-related programs and explored areas of collaboration.
The Council is composed of the following ministries and agencies: Ministry of Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE), Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD), Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILG), Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Energy (MENRE), Ministry of Labor and Employment (MOLE), Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR), Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Trade, Investments, and Tourism (MTIT), Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs (MIPA), Ministry of Public Order and Safety (MPOS), Bangsamoro Women Commission (BWC), Bangsamoro Sports Commission (BSC), Bangsamoro Darul-Ifta (BDI), Bangsamoro Commission for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage (BCPCH), and Office for Settlers Communities (OSC).
BYC provides leadership in the formulation and initiation of regional policies and plans, and in the setting of priorities and direction on youth promotion and development programs and activities. (BYC PR Unit/KAA)
