COTABATO CITY — To ensure transparency and efficient project monitoring, several of the Bangsamoro Parliament members proposed a measure that will institutionalize a region-wide geotagging system for infrastructure projects in BARMM.

Engr. Don Mustapha Loong, one of the authors, said that “while geotagging is currently in place in the Ministry of Public Works, the system may in the future no longer be continued.”

Geo-tagging, as described in the proposed bill, is the process of adding metadata and geographical information to the physical or site location of government infrastructure projects and of uploading them to a web-based application.

It must also include the project’s name, location, and cost to allow the public to check the progress of projects in real-time.

“Geotagging of all infrastructure projects in the BARMM will allow for more effective policy-making, improve the planning and programming of development projects, cumulative location of development projects, and track and monitor the progress of government projects,” he added.

In 2020, DPWH national required mandatory geotagging of all infra projects to improve planning, budgeting, project monitoring, and contract management processes.

The bill explained that geotagging would serve as a transparency mechanism that allows the citizens to monitor development in their communities, avoid duplication, and overlap infrastructure projects.

It will also allow the government agencies to determine which areas are receiving development projects.

Other authors of the bills are Engr. Baintan Ampatuan, Amilabahar Mawallil, Atty. Laisa Alamia, Atty. Rasol Mitmug, Jr., Atty. Suharto Ambolodto and Rasul Ismael. (Phentermine) (Publication and Media Relations Division)