THE Ministry of Human Settlements and Development in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MHSD-Barmm) has begun constructing 600 resettlement housing units worth P400 million for former combatants across six identified camps of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) as part of the normalization process.
MHSD Director General Esmael Ebrahim said Thursday, November 13, that the first 100-unit housing project is being built at Camp Abubakar As-Siddieque in Togaig village, Barira, Maguindanao del Norte.
Ebrahim led the groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, November 10, for the housing project at Camp Abubakar.
“In a few months from now, we will see the 100-unit housing for our Mujahideen brothers,” Ebrahim said in a statement.
He said similar projects will rise in Camp Bad’r in Guindulungan and Camp Omar in Datu Hoffer, both in Maguindanao del Sur; Camp Rajamuda in the Special Geographic Area; Camp Bushra in Butig, Lanao del Sur; and Camp Bilal in Munai, Lanao del Norte.
He said each housing unit will have a 48-square-meter floor area with three bedrooms, a living area, a dining area, a kitchen, a comfort room, and a porch.
Complementing the housing projects are seven community support facilities: a covered court with stage and bleachers, a concrete fence and archway, an access road with a drainage canal, solar lights, a Level II water system, a health station with equipment, and a multipurpose building.
The construction of the resettlement housing units is funded through Barmm’s Special Development Fund (SDF).
“Every home built through this project is not just a structure—it is a promise that the Bangsamoro government is steadfast in its commitment to the welfare of its people,” Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua said.
Ebrahim said the construction of 100 housing units in Camp Abubakar As-Siddieque serves as Barmm’s counterpart contribution to the camp’s transformation, in line with the Master Development Plan launched by the national government through the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (Opapru) on January 23, 2024.
Opaprulaunched the Master Development Plan for Camp Abubakar on January 23, 2024, to transform the former MILF training camp in Barira, Maguindanao del Norte, into a “show window of peace and development” by implementing socioeconomic projects to benefit the community. (SunStar Zamboanga)