MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, Aug 7 (PIA) --- The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is working to establish evidence-based policy formulation in the region with the help of technologies like database management systems and geotagging.
ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman said getting clear information on areas like education, health and agriculture in the region has remained a challenge throughout ARMM’s almost 25-year existence.
He said there are not enough baseline data to fully measure the present socio-economic condition in the region and evaluate the progress that are being made through the interventions of the regional government.
Hataman and members of his Cabinet held a three-day mid-year meeting, which wrapped up Wednesday, to assess the present administration’s performance for the first six months of the year. Regional cabinet secretaries and heads of other offices also reported on their agency’s compliance to good governance conditions and on the establishment of reliable database.
Some civil society groups from different parts of the region were present to comment on the agencies’ reports and raise concerns directly to regional officials including the ARMM governor himself.
ARMM agencies have earlier been required to put up database management systems that will primarily contain reliable baseline data on the ARMM, which is composed of the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, and the cities of Lamitan and Marawi.
Hataman said the region will collaborate with the World Bank to improve the database for ARMM that harnesses geotagging technology.
“For the past years, ARMM has been presenting reports that almost no one believes due to the lack of credible data. It was among the concerns we have to deal with when we assumed office – the lack of baseline data,” he said.
Hataman said they’re almost halfway with the database. “We target to complete it by end of the year and include it among the things we will turn over to the new autonomous political entity as part of our commitment to provide a smooth transition.”
The present ARMM administration also enforced good governance policy as part of its bureaucratic reforms. In keeping with Republic Act 9485 or the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007, all agencies and offices that provide frontline service have been required to make a citizen’s charter, which outlines the flow and intervals of frontline services.
Laisa Masuhud Alamia, ARMM executive secretary, said the citizen’s charter, will not only help curb graft and corruption but also increase the efficiency of regional agencies.
She said ARMM also complies with the transparency seal, a national provision requiring government entities to publish relevant information on their website for public scrutiny. (Bureau of Public Information/PIA-10)
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