ISABELA CITY, Basilan, Feb. 15 (PIA) – The information officers (IOs)  in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) as they attended IOs training recently, seek policy support to intensify information dissemination in the region.

The information officers from Basilan and Sulu attended the Enhancement Training for BARMM Information Officers in Communication Work spearheaded by the Mindanao Institute of Journalism in partnership with the Asia Foundation Activate Bangsamoro 2 Project. This aims to help the IOs understand further about Bangsamoro Parliament and be able to effectively communicate relevant and accurate information in BARMM.

Atty. Laisa Masuhud Alamia, Minority Leader of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority who served as one of the resource speakers, discussed about the role of information officers in communicating BARMM parliamentary functions.

However, despite these challenges, Atty. Alamia also recognized the best practices in Bangsamoro region in terms of information and communication. These include adequate resources, cultural sensitivity, political independence, access to accurate and up to date information, multiple communication channels, collaboration and stakeholder engagements, adequate time for research and preparations and training support.

Meanwhile, the Information Officers also seek support from the Bangsamoro government in terms of policy support which mandate the designation and appointment of Information Officers especially in the local government unit. Most information officers perform different tasks and only around 20-30 percent of their time is dedicated to information and communication works.

Furthermore, IOs also seek support in terms of budget allocation for information and communication efforts in order to intensify information dissemination. Other supports like facilities and equipment and trainings were also identified for priority consideration. (NBE/NDR-PIA Basilan)