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BARMM and Mindanao Development Authority signed an MOU to cooperate in drawing up a transport logistics roadmap to hasten the region’s integration with the overall national development
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The transport ministry, through MinDA, has tapped the USAID-funded Regulatory Reform Support Program for National Development for technical assistance
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The partnership will initially focus on identifying existing infrastructure facilities and gaps to thoroughly assess any policy and regulatory reforms
A transport logistics roadmap for Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) will soon be drawn up following the June 21 signing of an agreement between the Ministry of Transportation and Communications-BARMM and Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) and the Regulatory Reform Support Program for National Development (RESPOND).
BARMM-MOTC, through MinDA, has requested RESPOND and other donor agencies to extend technical assistance in developing the region’s Medium-Term Transport Logistics Roadmap to provide fast, efficient, and reliable transport and communication services.
“We want to make sure that BARMM is well-integrated in the overall national development, and this is a crucial step in achieving that,” said BARMM Transport and Communications Minister Dickson Hermoso in a statement.
At the signing of the memorandum of understanding at the Manila Hotel, Hermoso committed to coordinate other relevant ministries within BARMM to fast-track the formulation of the roadmap.
RESPOND chief of party Enrico Basilio said the partnership will initially focus on identifying existing infrastructure facilities and gaps to thoroughly assess any necessary policy and regulatory reforms.
“I would like to extend our thanks to the USAID-RESPOND Team for their swift action in making this partnership happen,” MinDA Secretary Maria Belen Acosta said.
“We deem this Transport Logistics Roadmap as integral to our long-term vision of an interconnected Mindanao – where people and goods can move freely and safely.”
RESPOND is a USAID-funded program that aims to improve regulatory quality in the Philippines through reforms that lead to enhanced competitiveness and, ultimately, contribute to higher levels of investment and trade, inclusive growth and self-reliance.
The UP Public Administration Research and Extension Services Foundation Inc. (UPPAF) will implement the project.
The tripartite MOU ensures that the Transport Logistics Roadmap is consistent and complementary to the Mindanao-wide development plans, programs, and projects.
A MinDA staff told PortCalls in a Twitter message that planning for the roadmap will start in July.
The BARMM government is focused on developing the autonomous region to improve the lives of its constituents by improving their livelihood and providing them with better public services.
On June 8, BARMM-MOTC signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with MinDA to further strengthen their partnership in pursuing and establishing collaborative efforts in facilitating and coordinating transportation and communications projects in the Bangsamoro region.
“This milestone marked the beginning of a strategic partnership that would combine the strengths, resources, perspectives, knowledge, networks, and reach of MOTC and MinDA to effectively solve shared challenges or seize new opportunities for fast, efficient, reliable, and safe transportation and connectivity,” MinDA said in a statement.
The agreement was signed by MinDA Secretary Acosta and MOTC Minister Hermoso at the Bangsamoro Ports Management Authority regional office in Cotabato City.
MinDA serves as the national government’s lead agency in coordinating and integrating development efforts that bring about accelerated socio-economic development in Mindanao.
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