Ministry of Human Settlements and Development (MHSD) leads groundbreaking ceremonies for the construction of 100 housing units in BARMM’s Special Geographic Area. (Hamdan Badrudin/BIO)
SPECIAL GEOGRAPHIC AREA — Construction of 100 resettlement housing for the residents of Old Kaabakan and Malidegao towns in the Special Geographic Area (SGA) formally commenced after officials from the Bangsamoro Government conducted groundbreaking ceremonies on Wednesday, July 23.
Led by the Ministry of Human Settlements and Development (MHSD), two separate ceremonies were done onsite for the 50 units of housing in Barangay Pedtad, Old Kaabakan, and another 50 units for the residents of Batulawan, Malidegao.
Both towns are newly created by regional laws passed at the Bangsamoro Parliament and ratified through a lawful plebiscite conducted by the Commission on Election.
In Barangay Pedtad, Captain Datu Adan Mantawil shared that aside from the resettlement housing from MHSD, they are also recipients of 50 housing units from Kapayapaan sa Pamayanan (KAPYANAN)— one of the flagship projects of Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim which provides decent housing for the poorest of the poor, internally displaced persons, martyrs of war, indigenous people, and other members of marginalized communities.
“We thank the Chief Minister for all the projects we received from BARMM,” Matawil said.
MHSD Director General Esmael Ebrahim who personally graded the occasion shared among attendees that their office is exerting its efforts to help address the inadequacy of permanent housing for the Bangsamoro people.
“In BARMM, more than 300 thousand families have no permanent housing hence we’re doing our best to address the situation gradually,” Ebrahim said.
Esmael emphasized that the resettlement project is free of cost and comes with a land title, a home lot, and a house.
“This is 3 in 1, beneficiaries will receive a home lot, house, and the land title for free,” Ebrahim further said which drew applause from the attendees.
Member of the Parliament Mohammad Kellie Antao said in his message of support that these projects are part of the collective efforts of Chief Minister Ebrahim to serve the Bangsamoro people.
“This is an initiative of our Chief Minister to serve our constituents who never experienced living in decent housing,” Antao said.
MHSD-SGA Provincial Director Hamzah Salik reminded the prospective beneficiaries to take care of the housing units once it’s ready for occupancy as these are entrusted to them by Allah.
“We can affirm our commitment to the things entrusted to us by taking care of it,” Salik said citing some of the novel words from Prophet Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him).
Based on the approved design, each unit comes with a 120sqm lot, three bedrooms, kitchen and dining, living room, comfort room, porch, and service area.
The 40-million project in Pedtad was funded through the 2022 Special Development Fund while the 38-million fund for the site in Batulawan was drawn from the 2024 General Appropriation Acts of the Bangsamoro. (Abdullah Matucan/BIO)
