One of the barangay halls built by the Bangsamoro Government in its Special Geographic Area. (File Photo by SGDA-BARMM)
SPECIAL GEOGRAPHIC AREA—Remaining true to its advocacy a few years back, the Bangsamoro government consistently delivers much-needed services in the Special Geographic Area (SGA).
Through various initiatives implemented by different ministries and offices in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), the rise of government centers like barangay halls, activity centers, public markets, and other vital infrastructures is evident across SGA.
While the SGA is yet to be constituted into their respective municipalities, the bills creating the eight municipalities were already passed into law by the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA).
Interior and Local Government Minister Naguib Sinarimbo explained in an exclusive interview that once the bills are signed by Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim and subsequent steps are done, such as publication in a newspaper, the plebiscite will follow.
“Technicaly sa ngayon, napasa lang yung bills pero hindi pa created yung mga municipalities,” lawyer Sinarimbo explained.
On Thursday, September 14, Chairman of Barangay Manarapan in Carmen Ingco Dalid shared in an interview that for the first time in his tenure, his village received plenty of infrastructure projects.
“Sa matagal na panahon, ngayon lang kami nagkaroon ng maraming proyekto kaya maraming salamat sa pamunuan ng BARMM,” Dalid said.
Dalid, who also heads the Carmen cluster of SGA, shared that his village received various infrastructure projects from BARMM which included a village hall, health station, public market, and road concreting which are all funded by the Bangsamoro government and implemented by various ministries and offices.
With 6,000 estimated population, Ingco said that these projects have been instrumental in providing ease to his constituents.
“Nasa 70% ng constituents namin ay mga farmers kaya malaking tulong ang mga project dito ng BARMM lalo na yung road concreting,” he added.
On top of these projects, the village in SGA also benefitted from the road network projects and housing units implemented by BARMM among other initiatives.
Accordingly, most of these are financed through BARMM’s Special Development Fund—a budget allocated by the national government for initiatives focused on “rebuilding, rehabilitation, and development of its conflict-affected communities” (Section 2, Article XIV of Republic Act 11054). (Abdullah Matucan/BIO)
