𝐁𝐄𝐃𝐂 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝟏𝐬𝐭 𝐁𝐃𝐏’𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐩

DAVAO CITY — Officials and members of the sectoral committees under the Bangsamoro Economic and Development Council (BEDC) convened on March 2-4, to take part in the refinement workshop for the assessment of the 1st Bangsamoro Development Plan (BDP) 2020-2022 held in this city, supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and The Asia Foundation (TAF)-Forward Bangsamoro.

The three-day workshop was facilitated by the Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority (BPDA) led by Director General Engr. Mohajirin T. Ali, BEDC vice chairperson and head of the technical secretariat, together with BPDA bureau directors Melanie Indar and Kadil Sulaik, and chairpersons of the five (5) sectoral committees.

In his message, Ali underscored the vital role of planning in the development and progress of the Bangsamoro region and the entire country as well.

“Let us always be reminded that it is our responsibility to assure that we have timely, accurate, and reliable data that help us in the formulation of responsive and sensitive plans and policies because it is the core of our decision-making and policy-making,” he stressed.

Ali also acknowledged the efforts and dedication of the officials and members from the 5 sectoral committees in realizing the Bangsamoro Government’s ultimate goal of improving the lives of the Bangsamoro through the development of plans responsive to their needs and aspirations.

“A critical timeframe against which we will align our schedule for the formulation of the second BDP is the updating of the chief minister’s priority agenda. We anticipate receiving the enhanced priority agenda in the 2nd quarter of this year, and it will serve as the basis for next year’s budgeting. We will then begin drafting the second BDP in the third quarter of this year. We will also be taking into account the May 2022 elections and we will be expecting to have new chief executives by the 2nd quarter of this year,” he added.

The refinement workshop aims to assess the BARMM’s macroeconomic performance; deepen the analysis on the identified gaps, challenges, and problems; and revisit and refine further the identified objectives and strategies from the previous assessment workshop.

Via Zoom video teleconference, Deputy Senior Minister Abdullah Cusain conveyed the message of Senior Minister Abdulraof Macacua, highlighting that “We are now refining the assessment outputs of the 1st BDP 2020-2022 as inputs to the formulation of the 2nd Bangsamoro Development Plan for 2023-2028, the formulation of this development plan is part of our commitment to sustain the gains we already achieved and to accelerate our peace and development efforts for the well-being of our people.”

“Senior Minister hopes for everyone’s cooperation and support as we all have the same aspirations of uplifting the lives of the Bangsamoro through moral governance and we implore everyone to lend their full support to the success and realization of our development agenda,” he said.

Azukizawa Eigo of JICA also expressed his full support to this workshop, saying “We do have it in our hands to address pressing social and economic challenges with genuine meaningful autonomy and as a long-standing partner of the Bangsamoro people, JICA remains committed to supporting the development of the region.”

“Well-organized BDP is indispensable for financial autonomy, budget planning is the most sound and stable disbursement and public finance management that leads to sound public investments and good service delivery,” he added.

Meanwhile, throughout the seven workshop sessions, Mr. Ever J. Abasolo, consultant for TAF-Forward Bangsamoro and an expert on macroeconomics served as the key facilitator and resource person of the activity. Abasolo prepped up by acquainting the participants with a sectoral mindset and a presentation of BARMM’s macroeconomic and welfare trends. The activity, however dwells heavily on assessing sectoral contributions to BARMM’s key macroeconomic and welfare trends, problem tree analysis and formulation strategy of the overall goal of the region’s plan.

Furthermore, Development Administration Committee (DACom), Economic Development Committee (EDCom), Social Development Committee (SDCom), Peace, Public Order, Safety and Security Committee (PPOSSCom), and Infrastructure Development Committee (IDCom) are the members of the 5 sectoral committees that took part in the refinement of the 1st BDP’s assessment.