COTABATO CITY — As the executive arm of the Bangsamoro Government, the Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority (BPDA) has successfully spearheaded on Monday, December 13, the conduct of the โ1st BARMM Donors Forumโ since the establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) on March 29, 2019.
Bearing the theme โOptimizing Partnerships; Development Partners and the BARMMโ, this forum aims to enhance coordination mechanism and strengthen the partnership between BARMM Government, local and international development partners, and other collaborating organizations and institutions.
BPDA Director General Engr. Mohajirin T. Ali underscored the Bangsamoro Governmentโs milestones and accomplishments during the transition period from 2019 until 2021 on peace, security, public order and safety, social, economic, infrastructure, and governance and institutional development.
Engr. Ali also presented the Office of the Chief Ministerโs (OCM) flagship programs which include Project Tulong Alay sa Bangsamorong Nangangailangan (TABANG), Ayudang Medikal mula sa Bangsamoro Government (AMBaG), Marawi Rehabilitation Program (MRP), Kapayapaan sa Pamayanan (KAPYANAN), and Support to Local Moral Governance (SLMG).
Based on records, BARMM has reached 5.9 percent economic growth in 2019 and only registered -1.9 percent economic losses at the height of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. As of 2019, BARMM is predominantly a service industry-driven economy at 40.4 percent.
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BARMM is constantly receiving significant foreign assistance in the form of Official Development Assistance (ODA). The region’s limited resources made available by the national government to fund the region’s development plans and programs have been expanded and complemented by this external assistance.
โTodayโs forum will provide everyone a glimpse of what the BARMM Government has achieved so far, development challenges we face and opportunities in collaboration with donors partners,โ Engr. Ali said.
Furthermore, Ali highlighted the ongoing major programs and projects of the Bangsamoro Government with support from various international and local development partners. He further said that the gains achieved so far by the Bangsamoro Government are partly because of the critical interventions provided by donor partners.
โUntil now, weโve seen how our development partners have saved the Bangsamoro peace process and contribute to the continues efforts to achieve lasting peace and development in the region,โ BARMM Chief Minister Ahod B. Ebrahim stressed.
Meanwhile, UN Resident Coordinator Gustavo Gonzales emphasized this forum has extended to foster coordination, transparency, and accountability, saying โIn future development, cooperation is changing, we are moving from farming to financing and moving from simple assistance to capacity development, eventually to coalition and alliance.โ
Gred L. Pineda, Assistant Secretary of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), has also expressed their commitment of support in strengthening partnership between the NEDA and Bangsamoro Government.
โNEDA is committed in strengthening our partnerships together with partners from international government agencies and other institution to effectively facilitate development assistance and support to the Bangsamoro Government,โ Pineda said.
Moreover, an open forum was facilitated by Camelia de-vera Dacanay, BPDAโs Chief of Macro-economic Planning Division (MEPD). Engr. Ali and BARMM Senior Minister Abdulraof Macacua answered the queries related to development initiatives of the Bangsamoro Government, specifically on the ongoing programs and projects.
After the forum, officials and guests have visited the sectoral booth displays situated at the lobby of the SKCC. Each booth was built and organized by the respective sectoral committees of the Bangsamoro Economic and Development Council (BEDC) which include Development Administration Committee (DACom), Economic Development Committee (EDCom), Social Development Committee (SDCom), Infrastructure Development Committee (IDCom), and Peace, Public Order, Safety and Security Committee (PPOSSCom). OCM had also setup a display featuring the Chief Ministerโs flagship programs, while a booth display was also built for the Official Development Assistance Nationally Funded Programs and Project Coordination to highlight the key interventions of development partners to BARMM.
Also in attendance were BARMM Cabinet Secretary Asnin Pendatun, Bangsamoro Parliament Speaker Pangalian Balindong, Members of the Parliament, Christoph Wagner of the European Union, Dr. Ndiame Diop of the World Bank, and Senator Richard J. Gordon, Chairman and CEO of the Philippine Red Cross. (BPDA-BARMM)