Cagayan de Oro – In a signing ceremony which marked years of longstanding partnership, the Provincial Government of Lanao del Sur, led by Governor Mamintal “Bombit” Alonto Adiong, Jr. and Vice Governor Mohammad Khalid “Mujam” Raki-in Adiong, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), spearheaded by its Resident Representative Dr. Selva Ramachandran, reaffirmed their joint commitment to advance peace and development in the province through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) towards enhancing development activities for the advancement of peace, resilience, and sustainability in Lanao del Sur.

The MoU will provide a framework for the continuous collaboration of Lanao del Sur and UNDP focusing on key priority areas such as: COVID-19 response and recovery, peacebuilding, prevention of violent extremism, digital governance, and promotion of renewable energy among others. 

Governor Adiong noted that “UNDP shall stand beside the Provincial Government in fulfilling the mission of improving the lives of communities by developing them through the promotion of inclusion and equality, which takes into account the needs of future generations and that provide services for all.”

“UNDP was a steadfast partner of Lanao del Sur before the siege, during the siege, and after the siege until now; We will continue to work with the province in achieving sustainable and inclusive peace and development, especially now as we are collectively recovering from the impacts of the pandemic,” said Dr. Ramachandran, highlighting the efforts to bring together peacebuilding, recovery, and humanitarian approaches in order to provide lasting solutions to the needs of vulnerable communities in the province.

During the signing ceremony, UNDP also turned over a generator to the Sagonsongan Temporary Shelter, which is home to 140 Meranao families that were displaced by the 2017 siege of Marawi City. During UNDP’s visit to Marawi in December, the internally displaced peoples’ (IDP) community in Sagonsongan expressed their need for better access to potable water as the limited power supply in the area makes it difficult to operate and use their electric water pumps. The generator, which was provided with the support from the government of Japan and UNDP through the "Enhancing Human Security in the Philippines by Addressing the Socio-Economic Impact of COVID-19 in the Philippines" project, was received by Brgy. Captain Nawas K. Lucman.

Aside from addressing the socioeconomic needs of communities in Lanao del Sur, UNDP has also supported an important element of the provincial government’s response to the pandemic. Last December 2020, UNDP turned over 5 medical ventilators to the provincial government in support of the efforts to enhance the local government’s capacity in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. In September 2020, 200 sets of personal protective equipment were provided by UNDP to frontliners of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office and the Provincial Community Quarantine Facility Ligtas COVID-19 Center through the UNDP Funding Windows project called "Strengthening National and Local Deradicalization Efforts through Community and Women's Participation in, and Cooperation with, National Security Institutions and Processes.”

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