DAVAO CITY—The new Bangsamoro government has opened an online portal showing its financial operation and transactions, from budgeting to income expenditures, in a step toward full disclosure.
According to the Bangsamoro government’s Bureau of Public Information, the portal called the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao-full disclosure policy (Barmm-FDP) was launched on Thursday in Cotabato City.
The Barmm-FDP portal is the first program launched by the Bangsamoro government through its Ministry of Local Government.
The disclosure portal is designed to enable constituents to understand government financial transactions and how the local government budget is spent and managed, according to Chief Minister Al Hajj Murad Ebrahim, who led the launching of the FDP portal.
It is based on the national government’s full disclosure policy, the Barmm said.
The Barmm added that the policy was adopted from the implementation of
the Department of
the Interior and Local Government Memorandum Circular 2010-83.
“This is in line with our policy of moral governance and transparency of all the activities and also the transparency in handling financial matters and other related activities,” Ebrahim said.
It said the portal provides a full disclosure budget, finances, bids and public offerings of the local government units (LGU).
“The summary of income and expenditures as well as the budget process of the participation of representatives from the civil society are also part of the postings in the FDP,” it added.
Ebrahim said all LGUs are mandated to comply and adhere with the policies of the program as he warned that noncompliance to the policy “may face administrative charges that could result to their suspension or removal from office.”
“We are imposing this and enforcing them to comply with it because it is provided under the law,” he said.
The information office said the Bangsamoro government “has the authority to regulate the affairs of its constituents over the transactions of the LGUs” as provided by the Bangsamoro Organic Law or Republic Act 11054.