THE Ministry of Human Settlement and Development in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MHSD-BARMM) is building 50 houses worth P42.5 million for former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) members and women sector in Basilan province.
Lawyer Hamid Aminoddin Barra, MHSD minister, said Thursday, March 21, 2024, that the housing project is being constructed in Bulanza village, Lantawan, Basilan.
Barra has assured the identified beneficiaries of BARMM’s commitment to providing decent homes to vulnerable BARMM residents, emphasizing the government's aspiration to reach every corner of the region with its projects.
“We are here to deliver this project with gratitude. We are pleased with the leadership of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as exemplified by Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim, ensuring that our projects extend to every part of the Bangsamoro area,” Barra said.
Lantawan Mayor Nasser Abubakar expressed heartfelt gratitude to Barra and the BARMM government, committing to completing the construction of the project within six months and ensuring its successful turnover.
“If other municipalities can complete it in one year, we should be able to do it in six months. All I need is the cooperation of Bulanza's constituents so that other barangays that also aspire to have housing can receive them,” Abubakar said.
MHSD Provincial Director Ibrahim Haruddain shared also the significant impact of the MHSD's housing project on the siblings of former MILF members in the area, who previously could not afford decent housing.
The housing project is part of BARMM Chief Minister Ebrahim's enhanced 12-point priority agenda, which is funded under the General Appropriations Act of the Bangsamoro (GAAB) of 2024.
Barra led the groundbreaking of the housing project in Bulanza, Lantawan, last week.
A similar housing project is ongoing construction in the villages of Lower and Upper Bato-Bato, Abkar, Basilan.
The housing project in Akbar is intended for the victims of war in Basilan province. (SunStar Zamboanga)