COTABATO CITY - The Ministry of Interior of Local Government (MILG) of Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) recently received various ICT equipment from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Philippines through the Localizing e-Governance for Accelerated Provision of Services (LeAPS) Project to support the region in strengthening digital governance from 2021 and beyond.

Representing the Ministry in the virtual turnover were MILG Minister Naguib Sinarimbo and Director Fausiah Romancap-Abdula, while UNDP was represented by its Resident Representative Dr. Selva Ramachandran and LeAPS project manager Mitzi Anne Mendoza.

In the February 18, 2021 virtual turnover, BARMM received almost $70,000 worth of equipment---15 Lenovo laptops with wireless keyboards, 122 tablets, and 300 pocket Wifis to be used in key local government units.

In his message, Dr. Ramachandran recalled visiting BARMM as his first official trip upon assuming his appointment last October 2020 and emphasized that the ‘solid partnership and relationship with BARMM’ will help the region better adapt to the future. Dr. Ramachandran also cited that UNDP is keen on building the capacities of BARMM through partnerships with other countries like Malaysia.

Minister Sinarimbo acknowledged the turnover and reiterated BARMM’s commitment to revolutionize governance in Muslim Mindanao by leading the transition to digitalization.

“Last year when the global pandemic started, production and supplies globally were disrupted and it became a major challenge to procure equipment from local suppliers, as the global production, shipment and movements were disrupted because of lockdowns imposed by different countries and even local government units,” Minister Sinarimbo said.

“To surmount these challenges, we partnered with UNDP thru our Project LeAPS to allow us to utilize their global network and get access to these equipment at a standard price,” the MILG Minister added.

A collaboration between MILG and UNDP Philippines, the LeAPS Project is geared towards transforming local governance in BARMM by significantly accelerating connectivity in communities and enabling citizens to capitalize on the benefits of digitalization and capacity-building through improved access to services and information, community enterprise development, and skills development.

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