SULU — The Bangsamoro Women Commission (BWC) travelled the to island provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi (BaSulTa) on Aug. 29 – Sept. 2 to extend its Kalinga Alay sa Kababaihan Program to some 530 indigent women.
Of the beneficiaries, 130 were senior citizens who were recipients of Php5,000 cash assistance, while 400 were widows of former combatants of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) who received food packs, 25-kilo sack of rice, and hygiene and sleeping kits.
In her speech read by her representative Michael Odin, BWC Chairperson Bainon Karon said that the Bangsamoro Government is looking forward to implementing more programs that will cater to the needs of Bangsamoro women.
“Marami pong mga programa ang BARMM government. Ang tanging magagawa natin upang ang mga ito’y maipatupad ng maayos ay makiisa at makipagtulungan sa ating mga political leaders at sa mga lider ng MNLF at MILF,” she said.
“Umasa tayo na hindi po ito ang huli na ninyong matatanggap dahil sa susunod na mga araw, kami ay magbabalik pa rin dito upang pasinayaan ang Bangsamoro Women Multi-Purpose Center na isa sa aking mga proyekto bilang miyembro ng parliamento, ” added Karon, who is a former member of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) Parliament.
She said the centers will be built in the region’s five provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi. The centers will provide an avenue that will ease the conduct of activities, trainings, and seminars for the Bangsamoro women.
BWC conducted the relief distribution in partnership with Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD), Ministry of Health (MOH), and other stakeholders.
The beneficiaries also expressed their gratitude to the Bangsamoro Government and hope that more programs for the women sector shall soon be realized.
“Maraming salamat po. Malaking tulong ito sa amin. Sana po ay tuloy-tuloy ang mga tulong niyo,” said Ramla Jamal, a beneficiary from Basilan. (Alline Jamar Undikan/ BIO)
