Video
ZAMBOANGA CITY (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 21, 2013) – The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is now on its last leg of its convergence program called H.E.L.P.S. which aims to bring uplift living conditions in five provinces under it, Gov. Mujiv Hataman said on Thursday.
Hataman said H.E.L.P.S. is the acronym for Health, Education, Livelihood, Peace and Governance, and Synergy which is a banner program of the regional government.
“Our aim here really is to bring the regional government closer to the people of ARMM, unlike in the past administration that provincial governments are at the mercy of those who were in power in the ARMM. We are now bringing basic services and infrastructure projects right at the doorstep of those who really need them,” Hataman told the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner after leading the program in Sulu province on Wednesday.
He said H.E.L.P.S. has been launched in the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi and that Maguindanao is next.
“We have launched this convergence program in every provinces of the ARMM, especially in the most depressed villages,” Hataman, a former lawmaker from Basilan province, said.
He said the H.E.L.P.S. is targeting about 153 poor villages in the whole of ARMM and that all Cabinet secretaries themselves are also part of this program. “Cabinet secretaries are present in every launching of the program so they can better assess the situation on the ground and learn more about what the people need. Our objective is to create a functional community,” Hataman said.
He said the program also complements provincial and national projects. The amount already spent for the H.E.L.P.S. is not immediately available since these projects are still ongoing, but Hataman said another P1.5 billion has been allocated to various infrastructure programs, particularly roads and bridges, and piers in the island provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, and other areas determined by the Department of Public Works and Highways.
Hataman appealed to residents in the ARMM to help in promoting peace and development in the region. “We need the cooperation of all. This is a convergence program in the spirit of Bayanihan so everybody must help each other so we can attain our goal of a peaceful and progressive ARMM,” he said. (Mindanao Examiner)
20