TAWI-TAWI— Minister Atty. Naguib Sinarimbo and his team from the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILG) travelled to the far-flung island provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, from June 9-13, to conduct a series of groundbreaking ceremonies, agreements signing, and inspection of under construction and completed infrastructure projects.
Upon disembarking the first-ever Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight from Cotabato to Tawi-Tawi on June 9, the team straightaway proceeded to hold a groundbreaking ceremony for Bongao Municipality’s state-of-the-art multipurpose center, and signing of a memorandum of agreement ( MOA) for the construction of two desalination plants in the town.
The team also broke grounds for Simunul Municipality’s Seaport and Tourism Center and South Ubian’s two-storey municipal hall, and signed a MOA for the operation and maintenance of a water desalination machine in South Ubian. They also inspected the ongoing construction of two-storey municipal halls in Tandubas and Sapa-Sapa which are expected to be completed in few months.
“Since the inception of BARMM in 2019, we’ve always been in good partnership with the local government of Bongao and the Province of Tawi-Tawi. We’re glad that we can fully trust the local government,” said Minister Sinarimbo.
As the team moved to Sulu province, groundbreaking ceremonies were also held for the 2-storey municipal hall in Lugus, police station, and public markets in the municipalities of Omar and Indanan.
Furthermore, MILG also conducted ocular inspection on the newly-completed 2-storey barangay halls in Chinese Pier and Takut-Takut in Jolo Municipality, and the desalination projects in Panglima Tahil and Pangutaran municipalities.
Minister Sinarimbo said that the island provinces hold the biggest economic potential in the region as they are the nearest places to international neighbors like Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Brunei.
“The future is here in the island provinces. I am sure that in the years to come, the island provinces will become the front door of development,” said Sinarimbo.
Meanwhile, MILG Sulu Provincial Director Emini Kadiri thanked the Bangsamoro Government for its support to the island province. “In all fairness sa BARMM, lahat ng nakikita nating project sa mainland ay naibababa naman dito sa island,” she said.
Kadiri shared that the regional government is always supportive in responding to their needs.
As the five-day official visit concluded, MILG project management shared that the total cost of interventions in the island provinces already reached to almost half a billion pesos. (Abdullah Matucan/BIO)
