BICTO Executive Director II, Jonathan Mantikayan, emphasizes the importance of government-citizen collaboration in propelling a digitally advanced future in the Bangsamoro region during the culmination of both the 3rd Bangsamoro ICT Summit and Expo and the National ICT Month on June 27, 2024 in Cotabato City. (Comenei Ali/BIO)
COTABATO CITY—The Bangsamoro Information and Communications Technology Office (BICTO) sees a crucial role for citizens alongside the Bangsamoro Government in propelling the region towards a digitally advanced future.
BICTO Executive Director II, Jonathan Mantikayan, emphasized this point on June 27, during the culmination of both the 3rd Bangsamoro ICT Summit and Expo and the National ICT Month 2024 held at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex (SKCC) inside the Bangsamoro Government Center (BGC) here.
“Our final focus on ‘Kinabukasang Progresibo’ reminds us that achieving inclusive Information and Communications Technology (ICT) development requires strategic planning, dedicated implementation, and robust collaboration between the government and its citizens,” Mantikayan said.
Spearheaded by the BICTO, the Bangsamoro ICT Summit is an annual event, which was pioneered in 2022, that convenes stakeholders and ICT professionals to tackle relevant enhancements and matters about the IT industry.
This year’s commemoration, celebrated every June according to Proclamation No. 1521, s. 2008, carries the theme, “Bayang Digital ang Bagong Pilipinas.”
Mantikayan emphasized that the summit manifested the efforts to achieve, through technology, an empowered, cohesive, and progressive Bangsamoro under the overall goal of the 2nd Bangsamoro Development Plan, 2023-2028, the governing roadmap of the interim government, outlining the region’s priority agenda and strategies.
“This summit, held under the auspices of the BICTO, is a testament to our collective commitment to harnessing the power of technology to drive socio-economic development and improve the lives of our people,” he stated.
He also reiterated that despite the challenges the BARMM government has encountered, nothing is impossible through cooperation, and urged every Bangsamoro to efficiently utilize technology as a powerful tool to positively transform the BARMM, alongside fostering equity and unity. (Johamin Inok/BIO)
