12K poor ARMM residents to receive shelters

COTABATO CITY – Officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) launched here Thursday a housing program that would hopefully improve the lives of 12,000 poor families across the region.

At least 7,000 family-beneficiaries this year and another 5,000 in 2017 are recipients of the ARMM’s Bangsamoro Regional Inclusive Development for Growth and Empowerment (ARMM-BRIDGE), or ‘Apat na Dapat’ program that aims to combat poverty and uplift the living condition of the region’s poorest households through the provision of basic needs.

ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman led Thursday's groundbreaking ceremony of the housing projects and distribution of food supplies in the towns of Matanog, Buldon, and Barira in Maguindanao.

“These housing projects would be realized before the new political entity, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), shall assume full governance,” Hataman said.

He noted that through the BRIDGE program, beneficiaries will soon move into secured homes since among the basic needs of these families is decent housing.

“We will do our best so that before the year ends, you can have your own decent homes that you can be proud of,” Hataman said.

The governor also led the ceremonial breaking of the ground for shelter projects in barangays Pura and Matuber in the coastal town of Datu Blah Sinsuat on Wednesday.

The regional government, this year, has earmarked roughly PHP2.9 billion for 7,000 family-beneficiaries. About 5,000 households in the region benefited from the PHP1.9 billion allocated under the program in 2017.

Under the program, each family-recipient would receive a core shelter in a 120-square-meter lot, food supplies for six months, livelihood training, water and sanitation, and solar-powered lighting.

Official data from the ARMM-BRIDGE showed that PHP2.2 billion is intended for housing projects -- PHP94 million for water systems, PHP180 million for electric supply, PHP320 million for food supplies, PHP140 million for livelihood, and PHP25 million for hygiene kits, among others.

Saira Macauyag, a mother of seven in Barira, Maguindanao, one of the beneficiaries, said she was excited to live in a house that she can finally call home.

“I have been dreaming of owning a home. Once this project is completed, my dream is fulfilled,” Macauyag, whose family engages in corn farming as a source of livelihood, said in the vernacular.

“It’s good if we earn PHP2,000 a month in harvesting corn. That is why the food ration from ARMM-BRIDGE makes my daily routine lighter,” she said.

Under the livelihood component, her barangay will receive a mini-grocery store and a vegetable production project.

The ARMM covers the cities of Lamitan and Marawi, and the provinces of Maguindanao, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan, and Lanao del Sur. (PNA)