BARMM taps UNDP for digital governance (Sabong News)

The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) is transforming itself digitally within the next five years. To actualize the vision of #DigitalBangsamoro, its leaders are expanding the rollout of the Localizing e-Governance for Accelerated Provision of Services (LeAPS) Program to cover 116 municipalities, 2 cities, and all barangays in the region. “The Bangsamoro Region has been delayed in terms of development gains,” according to Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILG) Minister Naguib Sinarimbo. “It’s important that we move fast in terms of development so we can catch up, not just with the rest of the country, but with the rest of the world,” he underscored. “The global experience is that technology can bridge the gap in development,” he noted. Hence, “We are expanding LeAPS to include all the Ministries and the Office of the Chief Minister for digitization and service simplification of the services of the different ministries.” “We are here to turn the vision of #DigitalBangsamoro into reality. As the country starts to open gradually, businesses will have to continue,” says Dr. Selva Ramachandran of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Philippines. “Here digitalization plays a particularly significant role in the provision of critical public services to make sure that we leave no one behind,” he pointed out. The BARMM government, through its MILG, partnered with the UNDP for the LeAPS Program to support the Office of the Chief Minister, all BARMM ministries, and local government units (LGUs) in using ICT solutions to simplify business processes, improve local public services and make them more accessible to Bangsamoro people. LeAPS will transform local governance in the Bangsamoro region, speeding up connectivity in communities and opening governance through improved access to services and information, community enterprise development, assisted rural e-commerce, and skills development. The program also targets to overcome the LGUs’ reliance on archaic, paper-based, and manual processes. Already the program was piloted in a couple of LGUs (Butig and Piagapo) and the MILG from July 2020 to December 2021. Now, LeAPS is taking off as a full-fledged program to transform local governance in BARMM via governance decentralization and fostering a culture of innovation in public service delivery from 2022 onwards. Over the next two years, the program will cover at least 29 additional municipalities and ministries. Its partner, UNDP, is the leading United Nations organization fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change in 170 countries.