COTABATO CITY— As part of its mission of bringing its services closer to the people, the Bangsamoro Government turned over today, May 20, a newly-built barangay hall in Patot, Pigcawayan Cluster, Special Geographic Area (SGA).
The two-storey hall worth P3.5 million was funded by the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILG), through the contingency fund of the Bangsamoro Appropriations Act of 2020.
According to MILG’s Project Management Division, similar halls are currently being built across the 12 barangays of Pigcawayan Cluster.
MILG Minister Atty. Naguib Sinarimbo congratulated the local officials for ensuring that all government projects in their jurisdiction are implemented well.
“Isa po kayo sa mga baranggay na maagang nakatapos ng kanilang proyekto,” Sinarimbo said in vernacular.
Sinarimbo underscored that under the leadership of Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim, MILG was instructed to check the needs of all localities and ensure that there will be intervention from the regional government.
Meanwhile, Patot Barangay Captain Abdullah Alamada expressed his gratitude to the Bangsamoro Government for the new project.
“Nagpapasalamat po kami dahil nabigyan kami ng BARMM ng baranggay hall dahil lahat ng tao ay dito nagkakaintindihan,” he said, noting the importance of a barangay hall as a venue in addressing the problems and concerns of the constituents.
He also disclosed that their barangay hall was previously destroyed due to local conflict in the area.
“Dati-rati po, palipat lipat yung barangay hall namin dahil sa kaguluhan tulad ng rido,” Alamada explained.
The local leader hopes that the new hall will ensure the smooth delivery of services to their constituents and added that the hall is considered as an iconic building in the locality.
Barangay Patot—a home for more than 3,000 people, mostly Iranun, is one of the 63 barangays in North Cotabato Province that officialy became part of BARMM after they voted ‘Yes’ during the plebiscite in 2019. (Abdullah Matucan)
