The head of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has recently expressed her support for the Bangsamoro government’s bid to digitalize services across the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The announcement was made during Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman’s recent consultation with key representatives from the BARMM as well as officials from the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), in connection with the region’s bid for digital transformation.
As quoted by the DBM in a press release, Pangandaman has reportedly said, “Rest assured that we, at the national government and the whole ICT sector, are in full support of your goal to achieve a sound, systematic, transparent, and accountable form of governance.”
Its own ‘Digital Transformation Roadmap’
Pangandaman, who belongs to the Muslim community, was also quoted as saying that the DBM now has its own Digital Transformation Roadmap, which aims to create one primary tool and a single source of truth for all fiscal-related transactions.
According to the secretary, the roadmap was designed to promote fiscal transparency, management, and accountability in government; prevent red tape and other corruption-related activities through paperless transactions; and reduce government expenses that are intended for manual transactions.
Pangandaman also acknowledged that the BARMM has been carrying out several digitalization initiatives to improve the ease of doing business and help activate savings priority programs in the region.
These digitalization measures include the adaptation of the Digitized Official Receipt System, as well as discussions on payment transactions, email transmissions, account management, and verification system within the Bangsamoro government.
“We want to make sure that the BARMM will not be left behind in all these endeavours,” Pangandaman said while stressing that digitalizing public services could play a key role in achieving inclusive growth for every Filipino.
Pangandaman further said the digital transformation will help strengthen intergovernmental connections, enhance transparency in governance and ensure bureaucratic efficiency in the country. “I’d like to call on everyone — from the national government and the Bangsamoro government — to collaborate, consult with one another, and support each other so that our vision of digital transformation can become a reality and help realize our Agenda for Prosperity — both for Mindanao and for the entire country,” she said.
Making BARMM ‘shine as the land of promise‘
Pangandaman has repeatedly vowed to provide support to BARMM to help the region thrive and make Mindanao “shine as the land of promise.”
In November last year, Pangandaman approved the release of BARMM’s share in taxes collected within the region, which amounted to over P225 million.
Section 10 of the Republic Act (RA) 11054 or the Organic Law for the BARMM indicates the sharing of taxes collected by the national government to the BARMM.
Under the law, a 25 per cent distribution share of taxes will go to the national government while the Bangsamoro government will get a 75 per cent distribution of the share of taxes, inclusive of the shares of the constituent local government units.
For the first 10 years from the effectivity of RA 11054, the 25 per cent share of the national government will accrue to the Bangsamoro government.