COTABATO CITY – Thousands of residents in conflict-affected towns in Maguindanao will receive socio-economic projects from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) following the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) for the implementation of the region’s Humanitarian and Development Action Plan (ARMM-HDAP).

Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman with Atty. Laisa Alamia, ARMM Executive Secretary, and Engr. Baintan Ampatuan, executive director of the Regional Planning and Development Office (RPDO-ARMM), led the signing of the MoA with the heads of implementing line agencies on February 16 at the Bajau Hall in ARMM Compound here.

The ARMM-HDAP is a project of the regional government under the Hataman administration that will implement various government initiatives specifically, relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction of both “horizontal” – in reference to school buildings, houses, and health centers – and “vertical” infrastructures – or roads and bridges, and provision of livelihood programs that will promote peace and help the situation in calamity-affected communities specifically in 15 Maguindanao towns.

Secretary Alamia said the ARMM-HDAP will help transform for the better the socio-economic situation in the 2nd District of Maguindanao. “We hope that through this (ARMM-HDAP), we will able to uplift and alleviate the situation of the people of the 2nd District of Maguindanao despite the conflict that is happening right now,” she said.

Based on the 2010 World Bank – World Food Programme study on violent conflicts in Central Mindanao, Maguindanao was most affected especially in terms of human displacement. It suffered in both man-made and natural disasters. In 2015, approximately 125,000 local residents were displaced because of intensified military operations to pursue terrorist elements in the area.

Secretary Alamia also added that the regional government will strictly monitor the implementation of the projects under HDAP. “We have a Project Management Office that will look up and monitor project implementation and we expect that the different agencies will be able to comply in time and in accordance with plans that have been drafted,” she said.

The total initiative costs P1.2 billion, which includes construction of farm to market roads, water systems, and livelihood projects, as well as other humanitarian assistance. Funding comes from the P2.3 billion budget allotted for projects to be implemented in the province of Maguindanao. (Bureau of Public Information)

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