DAVAO CITY — Some 200 permanent housing units will be constructed in the next 450 days in Barangay Malimono in Marawi City for the internally displaced residents from the Most Affected Area during the 2017 Marawi siege.
The the groundbreaking ceremony was held on January 14.
Bangsamoro Region Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim moved for the construction of the project and formed the collaboration between the Officials from the Office of the Chief Minister’s Marawi Rehabilitation Program (MRP) and Ministry of Human Settlements and Development (MHSD) to implement the project.
Human Settlement Minister Hamid Aminoddin Barra assured that his agency and the MRP’s implementing partner, will oversee the progress of the project.
In his message, Barra said , he hoped that the project will be completed on time for the displaced residents to immediately occupy their units.
“And this is part of our responsibility at the MHSD, as we are not only accountable to the Bangsamoro people and government and the mujahideens, but also to the national government and the Filipinos with their taxes, and ultimately to Allah (SWT),” he added.
For his part, Said Shiek, the MRP’s Program Manager and Member of the Parliament (MP) Said Shiek emphasized the significance of the principle of ‘moral governance’ in ensuring the success of the Bangsamoro Government’s projects intended for the indigent and vulnerable constituents like the IDPs.
“Moral Governance is the initiative of the Chief Minister and we have to ensure the most proper and effective implementation of this project in accordance with the advocacy of the BARMM government; and we will not progress if we will not be united with ‘qalbun saleem’ (clean and sound heart),” PM Sheik said.
The ceremony was witnessed by Parliament member Marjanie Mimbantas Macasalong, MHSD-Lanao del Sur Provincial Director Benjamin Alangca, Office of MP Abdullah Macapaar, PSC Chairperson DCM Aleem Ali Solaiman’s Chief of Staff Sultan Cosain Sulaiman, management of JCL Builders Inc., and representatives from the city and barangay local government units.
It can be recalled that on November 25, 2023, MRP and MHSD signed six memoranda of agreements (MOA) for additional infrastructure projects in Marawi City and its nearby municipalities aimed at improving IDPs’ living conditions in their permanent shelters.
The project is expected to address the IDP’s need for water systems, electricity, health services, and other infrastructure requimrent.
Since the inception of BARMM, the rehabilitation of Marawi City remains as one of the 12-point priority agenda of Chief Minister Ebrahim’s administration. -with report from Norjana Malawi/BIO
