THE Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) distributed more than P46 million worth of school supplies, agricultural support, and fisheries support equipment to pre-identified beneficiaries in the region.
Armm Governor Mujiv Hataman said the distribution is part of the Regional Government’s efforts to uplift the living conditions of beneficiaries and sustain production of agricultural products.
Hataman also noted that poverty incidence in Armm could be addressed by responding to different needs of various sectors and that providing assistance for education and agriculture are the top priority.
“The delivery of services to the Moro people who are living in impoverished communities will mark considerable effect in their lives,” Hataman added.
The Department of Education in the Armm (DepEd-Armm) distributed school supplies to pupils of 31 conflict-affected schools in nine districts under Maguindanao I division.
The school supplies distributed are worth P1.2 million consisting of notebooks, paper pads, pencils, crayons, ballpens, sharpeners, pencil cases, rulers, scissors, packs of color paper, color pencils, envelop, erasers, drawing books, and pouches of paste.
DepEd-Armm Secretary John Magno said 5,288 pupils benefited from the distribution dubbed Support Services Education Recovery.
The regional Department of Agrarian Reform distributed approximately P21.5 million worth of common service facilities to Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries Organizations.
The common service facilities distributed include 11 units of Kubota four-wheel drive tractor, eight units of thresher/husker, four units of corn sheller, one unit of stationary corn mill, eight units of rice mill, eight units of stationary mini rice mill-double pass, and 10 units of multi-purpose shredder.
More farmers in the region also received agricultural support from the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries of Armm (DAF-Armm).
DAF Secretary Alexander Alonto said the assistance “would help boost regional agricultural production.”
The beneficiaries are from 24 farmers’ cooperatives from Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao and Sulu.
The equipment distributed included four units of corn mills worth P1.2 million, two units of hand tractor worth P694,000, five units of hauler trucks worth P1.75 million, 100 units of knapsack sprayer, 50 units of plow and harrow worth P492,500, and, 32 rolls of hog wire worth P51,480.
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-Armm Director Janice Musali said close to 600 fishing families in Maguindanao will enjoy better fishing ventures after they distributed a total of P14.7 million fishing equipment to target beneficiaries.
Musali said the assistance comprised 377 units of motorized and non-motorized bancas amounting to P8.6 million, 1,610 units of coral cribs amounting to P1.5 million, 1,200 units of fish pots worth P600,000, 30 units of fish cages worth P3 million, and a community based hatchery worth P1 million.
Hataman said the distribution of different forms of assistance was simultaneously held during the launching on Saturday of the Comprehensive Reform and Development Agenda for Armm and other conflict affected areas in Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, and Central Mindanao led by President Rodrigo Duterte at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex in Cotabato City.
He said the distributed items were sourced out from regular programs of the different Armm line agencies and different special projects such as Humanitarian and Development Action Plan, Health, Education, Livelihood, Peace and Governance, and Synergy, and Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan.