The Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG) is set to work closely with the municipal governments of Lantawan, Maluso, Sumisip, Hadji Muhtamad, and Tabuan Lasa in Basilan province.

IAG announced on Friday, November 10, it is implementing an 18-month Spanish government-assisted project it hopes will result in the five municipalities coming together and strengthening their partnership to pursue development and improve governance and security.

“Our goal is to support the institutionalization of the Western Basilan Alliance (WBA) as an inter-LGU model in the pursuit of common local development agenda. Together with our partners, we will build institutional and personnel capacity to undertake alliance building and to utilize inter-LGU alliance to address common development issues, which cannot be resolved by individual entity acting on its own, and that which can be enhanced by working collectively”, IAG said in a statement.

The project has the support of the Office of the Regional Governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and the Office of the Provincial Governor of the Provincial Government of Basilan. The Zamboanga City-based ZABIDA is also on board as implementing partner.

Basilan is one of the five provinces that make up the ARMM. It is subdivided into eleven municipalities and two cities, with Lamitan City as the capital.

The project covers five municipalities with a cumulative population of 156,243, or 34 percent of Basilan’s entire population of 459,367.

“With this collaboration, we hope to see an improvement in local ecology and economy that will benefit local sectors and stakeholders, the upland and coastal economy and ecology, with the fisher folks, farmers, growers, local business people, local professionals and skilled workers. We are also looking at the improvement in peace and security and governance that will benefit the general population”, IAG said.