JICA enhances ARMM bureaucracy, official says

COTABATO CITY – Officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao have acknowledged sharp improvement in the ARMM bureaucracy amid the continued capacity-building support of the Japan International Cooperation (JICA), citing the Japanese entity’s generosity for underdeveloped nations.

“There is no way we can reciprocate generous package supports from the JICA than to produce a bureaucracy of competent professional workforce”, said ARMM Executive Secretary Atty. Naguib Sinarimbo during the 2nd annual progress meeting here of the Human Capacity Development Project (HCDP).

Speaking before participants of the annual meeting graced by JICA officials at a restaurant here Tuesday, Sinarimbo lauded the Japanese sponsors for their untiring supports to various initiatives aimed at improving ARMM governance.

Since 2007, JICA, a development partner of ARMM, has been bankrolling a series of manpower trainings and infrastructure development in the region, which covers Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

While lauding JICA for its significant intervention in human resources growth, Sinarimbo called on ARMM bureaucrats craft strategies the would set clear-cut policies that will ensure wise utilization of grants and similar packages the likes of JICA.

“We, officials and employees in the Autonomous government are the real faces in the ARMM; whatever we do or fail to do is real reflection on how governance is conducted in ARMM”, Sinarimbo said.

For this year’s progress meeting, technical working groups on administrative development, infrastructure development and economic development took turns in rendering positive results in their respective areas.

Impressed of the progress reports, Project Formulation Advisor for Mindanao (JICA Philippines) Mr. Takashi Komori assured his Filipino counterparts of his favorable recommendations for other program packages.

Komori said that the ill-fated incident in Maguindanao late last year has not affected the momentum and cooperation JICA has been offering ARMM.

The one-day affair winded up with JICA turning over twenty (20) more units of computers for the Human Resource Information System at the HRIS Center located at the ARMM compound here.

Morito, Sinarimbo and ARMM’s administrative management services Director Lydia Udaundo-Mastura signed a memorandum of understanding on the use of the computer units for enhance data banking system. (rkp/bpi-armm)