Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao

Japan-funded training center launched in ARMM

2010-05-18T01:20:00.001-07:00

COTABATO CITY – Officials from Japan and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao held a groundbreaking rite here Monday for the construction of the P28.8-million their Friendship Hall and Training Center (FHTC), drawing public applause on what host leaders described as a sign of sustained Japan-Philippines strong diplomacy.

Japanese Deputy Chief of Mission Minister Motohiko Kato led the formal ceremony assisted by ARMM Executive Secretary Naguib Sinarimbo.

The construction of the training center is financed through the Counter-value Fund of Japan’s Non-Project Grant Aid for the Philippines and part of Japan’s commitment to help enhance the ARMM government’s human resource capacity, Sinarimbo said.

Aside from housing the ARMM Development Academy (ADA), which takes lead in the ARMM’s human resource development, the JAFHTC will serve as venue to a lineup of activities primarily aimed at the human resource development of ARMM.

About 90 trainings, workshops and seminars are set to be held at the training center once it is completed, according to a press release from the Embassy of Japan.

Kato reaffirms “Japan’s continuous commitment and friendship to support efforts of the ARMM government to achieve sustainable development.”

He said “Japan considers its assistance for Mindanao to be one of the three main pillars of its ODA [Official Development Assistance] for the Philippines” and the assistance that their country provides to ARMM is one of the three main development objectives of their assistance policy for Mindanao.

ARMM Acting Governor Ansaruddin Adiong conveyed the gratitude and appreciation of the people of ARMM to Japan for its unrelenting support.

He said this latest Japan-funded project instills an “overwhelming hope and excitement” to the regional government in view of the “beneficial activities” that will be held in it.

Japan remains one of the main donor countries providing ODA to ARMM.

Last month alone, the region has witnessed a litany turnover rites for strategic infrastructure projects financed by the Government of Japan.

Moreover, the ARMM Social Fund Project (ASFP) – the biggest poverty-alleviation project in ARMM – is funded, in part, by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Sinarimbo tags the JAFHTC as an icon of the mutual cooperation and partnership between Japan and the ARMM.

He said the building will be a “modern and convenient infrastructure” that would help improve the region’s human capacity. (Edited by AGM, BPI-ARMM)

P14.30 daily wage hike mulled in ARMM

2010-05-12T20:19:00.000-07:00

COTABATO CITY – Labor authorities of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) have assured to raise daily minimum wage by at least P14.30 for workers in the two cities and five component provinces of the region.

ARMM’s Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) regional secretary Myra Alih said her agency would undergo after the May 10 elections a series of consultations for the local labor forces’ demand for wage increase this year.

Speaking at Labor Day celebration here on May 1, clarified that the proposed wage hike has no definite ceiling but it will not be more than P14.30 just to augment the wages of our workers.

The ARMM’s celebration of the Labor Day was also highlighted by the awarding of summer job qualifiers under the Special Program for Employment of Students (SPES) program for 1,525 students in the entire region.

Alih said that 440 licensed nurses are now ready for deployment to the rural areas in all component provinces of the ARMM under the Nurses Assigned in Rural Services (NARS) program.

She said the Youth Employment and Migration (YEM) Program was also in progress to cater to concerns of out-of-school youth in the region.

Alih commended the local and international companies in the ARMM for providing more job opportunities to skilled workers in the region.

With the theme “Manggagawang Pilipino, Kaagapay sa Pagbabago,” the Labor Day fete here also acknowledged the substantial contributions of private establishments in the region by awarding them certificates as most outstanding private establishments and employees/workers.

Regional executive secretary Naguib Sinarimbo graced the local celebration, lauding the regional labor force’s “cooperative” stance with the pace of development in ARMM.

“As we in the public sectors remember the importance of this day, we also hope that our social partners would also do a recollection and reaffirmation of the belief that labor rights and standards of work need not be sacrificed at the altar of business and economic development,” Sinarimbo said.

Sinarimbo and Alih underscored the adoption of focused policies and strategies on labor concerns by the present ARMM leadership under acting Regional Governor Ansaruddin Adiong as a part of its regional strategic plan aimed at bringing the region to greater heights.

The celebration activities included a parade, parlor games; jobs fair; awarding of outstanding private establishments and outstanding employees/workers in the region; and Cultural Presentation. (Ali G. Macabalang)

ARMM to pursue P206 M agri-development projects in 2010

2010-04-20T21:41:00.000-07:00

Cotabato City - The Department of Agriculture and Fisheries of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DAF-ARMM) will be pursuing diverse agricultural development projects amounting to P206-million this year under the Mindanao Rural Development Program (MRDP).

MRDP is a long-term poverty alleviation program of the national government through the Department of Agriculture (DA), funded from a loan from the World Bank and equity from Local Government Units (LGUs).

The project is now on the third year of the second phase of its implementation, which started in 2007, and will run for five years.

This year, a total of P2 billion worth of projects, which include the construction of farm-to-market roads, post-harvest facilities and other infrastructures, have been targeted by different regions across Mindanao with ARMM posting the highest target of P206 million, according to the DA.

These infrastructures are expected to improve the lives of thousands of farmers and increase farm production.

DAF-ARMM Secretary Lomala Balindong said the region excelled in the implementation of the Community Fund for Agricultural Development (CFAD), a component program of the MRDP, in a recent assessment overseen by the World Bank.

Sixty percent of the target projects under this component have already been completed while the remaining 40% are now being undertaken, he said.

He said CFAD has benefitted a total of 3,362 farmers all over the region with the completion of 55 out of the 71 community sub-projects amounting to P18 million and the ongoing implementation of 8 others.

Balindong said lined-up projects for this year are intended to provide farmers and fisherfolks in the region with long-lasting support in the improvement of their harvests and living condition. (bpiarmm)

Task group holds final consultation on ARMM's gender code

2010-04-12T20:29:00.001-07:00

DAVAO CITY – A task group helping draft the Gender and Development Code of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has held its final lap of consultative meetings here with Muslim religious leaders as a prelude to the legislation of the code.

The Technical Working Group (TWG) of the Regional Sub-committee on Gender and Development (RSCGAD) gathered comments and suggestions from invited participants of the April 7 and 8 consultations here on the draft of the gender code.

The consultation intends to comprise and conform to the official position of the Muslim Religious Leaders on the religious and contentious provisions of the ARMM GAD Code.

The ARMM’s GAD Code is envisioned to be the regional translation of the Republic Act 9710 known as the Magna Carta of Women that was recently passed by Congress and signed into law by Pres. Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo.

DILG-ARMM assistant secretary and GAD Code Technical Working Group (TWG) chair Sharifa Pearlsia.Dans said the adoption of the code could be “a regional landmark legislation that promotes and protects women’s rights in different areas and responds to gender issues and concerns affecting women and children in the region”.

Like the Magna Carta of Women, the Code affirms the role of women in nation building and ensures the substantive equality of women and men, young and old.

It also promotes empowerment of women and pursues equal opportunities for women and men, boys and girls, ensures equal access to resources and to development results and outcomes in the region.

“Our advocacies are more on re-inventing initiatives, mechanism, public policy agenda suitable to our “Muslimness” and to our region’s geographical configuration", said Ms. Tarhata Maglangit, the commissioner of the ARMM Regional Commission on Bangsamoro Women (RCBW) for Maguindanao province.

Commissioner Maglangit hopes that this consultation with the Muslim Religious Leaders can widen the wisdom of opportunities for the Bangsamoro women’s participation in advancing gender and development agenda.

The final draft of the ARMM GAD Code will be submitted to the ARMM Regional Legislative Assembly (RLA) for enactment into law.

The Code will be sponsored by Maguindanao 1st District Assemblyman Abdulradzak Tomawis and Speaker Reggie Sahali-Generale of Lone district of Tawi-Tawi as co-sponsor.

Series of provincial consultations have been conducted by the RSCGAD-ARMM technical working group since last year last, gathering local government stakeholders and development partners to brainstorm on issues and concerns involved in the prospected legislation of the code.

The said consultation participated in by Muslim Religious Leaders coming from the different component provinces of the ARMM has been spearheaded by the RCBW and the RSCGAD in the autonomous region in partnership with the the Commission on Population-XII and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). (bpi-armm)

ARMM to receive fresh AusAID support in education

2010-04-12T20:24:00.000-07:00

Cotabato City - The Government of Australia plans to provide a long-term support to the improvement of the quality and access to education in the Autonomous Region in Muslim in Mindanao (ARMM) through the introduction of another round of assistance that builds on the successes of the now concluded eight-year Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao (BEAM) project.

Ramon Bobier, BEAM project director, said the new program called Implementation Support to Design BEAM ARMM is not a continuation of BEAM but a discrete set of activities over a 12-month period that aims to maintain the momentum of education reforms in ARMM and to support the design of the Government of Australia’s (GoA) longer term assistance in the region. The planned long term education assistance would be implemented in the five provinces and 1 city of ARMM.

Efforts are now being undertaken to draw up the new project through a 12-month implementation support to BEAM-ARMM design with the involvement of several stakeholders. The new phase will include the implementation of a peace education framework specifically tailored to suit the needs of children in the region.

School and regional officials of the Department of Education (DepEd)-ARMM have recently participated in a two-day workshop forum on peace education sponsored by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID). The peace education framework will be able to introduce and integrate best peace concepts and culture into the curriculum and systematically build peace in the minds of the children.

A handout given during the forum describes peace education as education that is geared toward a culture of peace, which the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines as “a growing body of shared values, attitudes, behaviors and ways of life based on: nonviolence, respect for fundamental rights and freedoms; understanding, tolerance and solidarity; sharing and free flow of communication; and full participation and empowerment of women.”

ARMM Education Secretary, Hamid Aminodin Barra, said peace education framework in ARMM should have Islamic teachings as its foundation.

Barra, who provided an input on Islamic framework on peace and respect for human dignity in the forum, averred that the Islamic context must always be considered in any project that will be undertaken in the ARMM.

He also allayed apprehensions that this extremism is a “religious excesses, going beyond the limits and transgressing permitted bound” as he emphasized that “Islam is a religion of moderation.”

The AusAID-BEAM project, which officially ended in November of last year, has helped improved the learning outcomes of school children in the region in English, Science and Math and increased accessed of those living in remote and depressed communities to education with its wide-ranging and innovative schemes.

ARMM, however, continues to lag behind other regions in terms of literacy and needs more help to change this trend.

The new AusAID support will focus on the particular education needs of ARMM with its unique culture and diverse populace taken into consideration. (bpiarmm)

Women Empowerment

2010-03-26T00:14:00.000-07:00

Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) executive director Ms. Emmeline Versoza explains to participants of the Conference on Magna Carta of Women the salient provisions of the Republic Act 9710 otherwise known as the Magna Carta of Women on Tuesday, March 23, 2010 in Cotabato City. The conference was one of the activities on the month-long celebration of the Women’s Month this March with the theme “Babae, Tagumpay Ka Ng Bayan” spearheaded by the Regional Commission on Bangsamoro Women (RCBW-ARMM). (bpi-armm)

Smart and Young Leaders

2010-03-26T00:08:00.000-07:00

Lanao del Sur 1st District Assemblyman Ziahur Rahman Alonto Adiong (1st from Left) joins the group of young lady officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) as panelists and resource speaker during the Conference on the Magna Carta of Women here in Cotabato City on March 23. Also shown (from Left-Right) are Atty. Christina Hawtay Jovero, OIC, regional director of the Commission on Human Rights –Region 12 and ARMM; DTI-ARMM regional secretary Atty. Asnairah Batua; Phil. Commission on Women executive director Ms. Emmeline Versoza as the Resource Speaker; ARMM Bureau on Cultural Heritage (BCH) executive director Atty. Bai Ashrafiah Aymee Biruar and Regional Legislative Assembly Gender and Development (GAD) focal person Atty. Bai Ysrahayda Sinsuat. Assemblyman Adiong delivered the message of the ARMM acting regional governor Ansaruddin Alonto Adiong on the conference. (bpi-armm)

ARMM conducts consultation on GAD Code and Magna Carta of Women

2010-03-26T00:06:00.000-07:00

24 March 2010

COTABATO CITY – Concerned sectors and stakeholders are pushing for the adoption of Gender and Development (GAD) Code for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in a bid to empower resident-women and enable them to participate in local development undertakings.

The Regional Commission on Bangsamoro Women (RCBW) and the Regional Sub-Committee on Gender and Development (RSCGAD) conducted their final consultation in Maguindanao on the draft GAD Code in the region and a conference on Magna Carta of Women here on March 22 and 23, respectively.

The activity was the last of the series of provincial consultations concerning the drafting of the GAD Code, gathering local government stakeholders and development partners to brainstorm on issues and concerns involved in the prospected legislation of the code.

The adoption of the code could be “a regional landmark legislation that promotes and protects women’s rights in different areas and responds to gender issues and concerns affecting women and children in the region”, said DILG-ARMM assistant secretary and GAD Code Technical Working Group (TWG) chair Sharifa Pearlsia.Dans.

The “implementation of the ARMM GAD Code will give best chances to the rural men and women to enjoy various basic programs and services, create greater participation of women in socio-economic development and active representation in the local legislative bodies in the discussion of their needs and wants”, stressed RCBW-ARMM and RSCGAD Chairperson Jasmin Domado.

The ARMM GAD Code is envisioned to be the regional translation of the Republic Act 9710 or the Magna Carta of Women that was recently passed and signed into law by Pres. Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo.

Like the Magna Carta of Women, the Code affirms the role of women in nation building and ensures the substantive equality of women and men, young and old.

Moreover, it also promotes empowerment of women and pursues equal opportunities for women and men, boys and girls, ensures equal access to resources and to development results and outcomes in the region.

In his message read by Lanao del Sur 1st District Assemblyman Ziahur Rahman Adiong during the conference on the Magna Carta of Women, ARMM acting regional governor Ansaruddin Alonto Adiong said that “the current developments that takes place before us with respect to women are truly inspiring”.

“Women of today have remarkably conquered many frontiers on modern enlightenment and empowerment. Indeed, enlightenment and empowerment are inseparable from each other as there could be no empowerment in the absence of enlightenment,” added Adiong.

Meanwhile, a final review and consultation with the Muslim Religious Leaders (MRLs) is scheduled sometime next month to comprise and conform to their official position on the contentious provisions of the ARMM GAD Code.

The final draft of the ARMM GAD Code will be submitted to the ARMM Regional Legislative Assembly (RLA) for enactment into law.

Maguindanao 1st District Assemblyman Abdulradzak Tomawis will sponsor the Code and Speaker Reggie Sahali-Generale as co-sponsor.

The GAD Code consultation was spearheaded by the Regional Commission on Bangsamoro Women (RCBW) in line with the celebration of the National Women’s Month in coordination with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Commission on Population (PopCom) XII and Regional Planning and Development Office (RPDO-ARMM). (bpi-armm)

Displaced workers' financial benefits

2010-03-26T00:05:00.001-07:00

Asmad Enok, serving the government for over 20 years (left), receives a check worth more than P600,000 representing his monetized terminal leave following his displacement from the abolition by the Supreme Court of the Shariff Kabunsuan (SK) provincial government at simple rites last Monday at the ARMM complex in Cotabato City. Shown handing the check is Maguindanao OIC-Governor Gani Biruar as former SK acting Governor Ibrahim Ibay Jr. (right), Maguindanao OIC-Vice Governor Nariman Ambolodto (second from left) and ARMM Executive Secretary Naguib Sinarimb (center) look on. Enok is one of 167 personnel belonging to the first batch of check recipients from P40-million fund released earlier by the national government. (Ali G. Macabalang)

Kabunsuan’s displaced workers get P40-M benefits

2010-03-26T00:03:00.000-07:00

March 23, 2010

COTABARTO CITY – After more than a year of waiting in anxiety, displaced workers of the defunct Shariff Kabunsuan province finally started getting their monetized terminal leaves under the fresh leadership of the Maguindanao provincial government.

OIC-Maguindanao Governor Gani Biruar personally distributed checks to 167 initial beneficiaries in formal ceremonies last Monday at the cultural center of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) compound here.

ARMM Executive Secretary Naguib Sinarimbo, representing acting Regional Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong, in a brief speech, said the displaced personnel of the Supreme Court-abolished Shariff Kabunsuan provincial government “deserved prompt attention and every penny of their benefits.”

Sinarimbo’s remark drew resounding applauses from the beneficiaries, who admitted having suspected “something fishy” in the delayed release of their monetized terminal leaves accruing from their separation from service as a result of a Supreme Court order dissolving Shariff Kabunsuan in 2008.

Biruar said that upon his installation to office by Adiong as OIG-governor last February 24, he started receiving formation about the availability in bank of P40-million earmarked for the terminal leaves of the first batch of displaced Shariff Kabunsuan personnel.

“We got confirmation in our verifications from the DBM (Department of Budget and Management) that the fund was indeed for the terminal leaves of the 167 displaced workers. So, on order of the acting ARMM governor, we promptly prepared the checks and distributed them today,” Biruar said Monday.

Biruar expressed what he described as “immeasurable joy” over the release of the displaced personnel’s terminal pays, stressing that “justice is defined simply as giving Cesar what is due to Cesar.”

Monday’s recipients of checks belonged to the first batch of personnel of the defunct province whose application for terminal leaves were received and processed as early as early last year, it was learned.

The amounts in the checks ranged from the smallest one-year terminal leave of P7,000 to the biggest sum of P600,000 allotted to at least three displaced ranking personnel who have served the government for over 20 years, official records showed.

Biruar said there are more than 200 other displaced personnel of the defunct province who were still deciding either to apply for monetized terminal leaves or seek reemployment in the provincial government of Maguindanao.

Shariff Kabunsuan was created in 2006 out of Maguindanao province via legislation by the ARMM Regional Assembly. In 2008, however, the Supreme Court issued a ruling nullifying the process because of the assembly’s lack of power to create a Congressional district. The power belongs to Congress.

Over 400 of the personnel of the Maguindanao province, who joined the provincial government of Shariff Kabunsuan, have been displaced following the Supreme Court order. (Ali G. Macabalang)

Benefits of defunct Shariff Kabunsuan’s personnel readied

2010-03-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

COTABATO CITY - The monetized terminal leaves of personnel of the defunct Shariff Kabunsuan provincial government will be released on Monday, March 22 in formal rites at the cultural center of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) compound in Cotabato City .

This was announced today by Maguindanao OIC-Governor Gani Biruar, who has successfully worked out with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) the release of the monetized terminal leaves of over 100 personnel affected in the earlier dissolution of the Shariff Kabunsuan province.

In a press statement through the ARMM’s Bureau of Public Information (BPI), Biruar said the original schedule of the distribution ceremony was postponed from March 18 to March 22 in view of the coming visit in ARMM of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on the former date.

“We have to reset the date of the distribution ceremony (March 18 to 22) in order to provide us full time in releasing the monetized terminal leaves to individuals concerned,” Biruar said.

Biruar, who was in Manila as of press time to attend the 1st special meeting of the ARMM’s Regional Economic and Development Planning Board (REDPB), appealed to recipient personnel to bring identification credentials to revceive their monetized terminal leaves.

He advised those personnel who could not come personally during the rites to send their representatives with corresponding powers of attorney, starting at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, March 22.

The DBM has prepared the monetized terminal leaves for personnel of the then Shariff Kabunsuan provincial government who have been displaced as a result of the Supreme Court resolution last year dissolving the province due to the legal infirmities in its earlier creation by the ARMM regional assembly.

Some personnel of the dissolved provincial government have been rehired in their mother units in the Maguindanao provincial government.

However, more than 100 others have not been absorbed, and were therefore given monetized terminal leaves, Biruar said. (AGM/bpi-armm

Enhanced alliance on poverty-alleviation

2010-03-25T23:55:00.000-07:00

Acting ARMM Governor Ansaruddin A. Adiong and Social Welfare Secretary Celia Yangco shake hands after signing their memorandum of agreement enhancing implementation of the anti-poverty Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in the autonomous region in sidelights of Monday’s first meeting among foreign donor-institutions and ARMM executives in Metro Manila, as witnessing local officials look on enthusiastically. (Omar Mangorsi/bpi-armm)

DSWD inks MOA with ARMM on intensified 4Ps program

2010-03-25T23:53:00.000-07:00

March 17, 2009

COTABATO CITY – The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has forged with the new leadership of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao a memorandum of agreement to ensure an intensified implementation of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) in the poverty-laden ARMM communities.

DSWD Secretary Celia C. Yangco and acting ARMM Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong signed the MOA at the unprecedented meeting Monday in Metro Manila of officials of over a dozen foreign donor-organizations and institutions and executives of the regional autonomous government.

In her brief speech, Sec. Yangco said the forging of the MOA was meant to replicate if not enhance in the autonomous region the 4Ps implementation mode and ensure effective poverty-alleviation efforts especially in the conflict areas of ARMM.

The 4Ps, one of major anti-poverty government interventions, is a five-year program of the Arroyo administration launched in 2008 through the DSWD amid the global economic meltdown.

It is funded by international donors including American Development Fund, World Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), whose officials in the country attended the Monday’s foreign donors’ meeting with ARMM officials.

It provides small cash grants to identified extremely poor families with the condition that the money will be spent for health and education of their children particularly from zero-to-fourteen (0-14) years of age.

In ARMM where the country’s highest rate of malnutrition and school dropouts has been recorded, the program has gained momentum with the recent creation of the advisory committee (RAC) to intensify efforts against poverty and improve the health, nutrition, education and economic condition of the local populace.

The DSWD leads the RAC with the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Regional Development Planning Office (RPDO) and the ARMM’s Bureau of Public Information (BPI) as members.

The RAC aims to effectively implement the 4Ps and translate national policies into region-specific operational guidelines, according to DSWD-ARMM acting Secretary Pombae Kader, who witnessed Monday’s MOA signing rites alongside other regional cabinet members.

In his response speech, acting Governor Adiong said the forging of the MOA would further boost the operations of the RAC in carrying out efforts prescribed under the 4Ps.

“With everything in place, we can no reason for gray areas in ARMM areas as far as the 4Ps implementation is concerned," Adiong stressed.

In an interview, Asec. Kader said the 4Ps has targeted 92,000 families in the region, each earmarked with P1,400 monthly subsidy for five years for health services and education of three (3) children. Each child will have P300 education or a total of P900 for the three children while the P500 will be used for the family’s basic health service.

As of August 2009 nation-wide, the program increased its target beneficiaries from 700,000 to one million households in 2008, entailing the government to increase its budget from P5-billion to P10 billion, a DSWD report said.

In the ARMM, as of August 2009, the program then covered 15 towns, serving some 30,000 households that received roughly P58 million, the report said, adding that 57 more towns and approximately 70,000 households are targeted in the region in five years. (Ali Macabalang / BPI-ARMM)

ARMM free port declaration

2010-03-25T23:40:00.000-07:00

Acting Regional Governor Ansaruddin Adiong (seated second from right) signs a proclamation declaring the Polloc Port in Parang, Maguindanao a Free Port and Barangay Polloc a Special Economic Zone at a convergence among officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and foreign donor-institutions in Metro Manila on Monday as Japan Embassy second Secretary Hirochika Namekawa (right), Counsellor Hussain Ibrahim Al-Badr of Qatar Embassy (middle), ARMM Speaker Reggie Sahali-Generale, Regional Cabinet Secretary Ila Manalocon (extreme left) and other regional executives shown standing look on enthusiastically. (Ali G. Macabalang)

Maguindanao wharf declared ARMM’s free port

2010-03-25T23:37:00.000-07:00

March 16, 2010

PARANG, Maguindanao – Bouncing back from what technocrats lamented as operational deprivation in power devolution, the Polloc Port here finally sees a ray of light in its two-decade quest to open investments and stimulate growth in the impoverished Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The prospects brightened after acting ARMM Governor Ansaruddin A. Adiong declared Monday the facility as a Free Port and the host barangay Polloc as a Special Economic Zone in the autonomous region.

Adiong signed the proclamation in formal ceremonies highlighting the equally unprecedented convergence of top ARMM officials and heads of over a dozen of foreign donor-institutions at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel in Madaluyong City Monday morning.

Lawyer Ishak Mastura, chairman of the ARMM Board of Investment, extolled the proclamation, saying: “We’ve waited long for this proclamation and we are grateful to Acting Regional Governor Adiong for doing it in pursuit of his vision to spur accelerated growth in the region.”

Mastura, then Trade and Industry regional secretary, conceived and pushed for the declaration of the regional economic zone and the free port during the first ARMM business congress in 2003.

Polloc Port Manager Harry Mohammad said the declaration marked a “historic beginning for the facility, not anymore as a ‘vision of the future’ after years of operation weathering political upheavals, natural and man-made calamities that characterized the Mindanao conflict.”

Mohammad said the Port was dubbed as “vision of the future” when it was constructed in the late 70s by the Korean Nam Kwang Construction, Ltd. with P150-million fund from the Asian Development Bank under the Marcos era.

The Polloc Port was classified then by the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) as the country’s “most modern facility outside Metro Manila equipped with main wharf, lighter docks, transit sheds and wide back-up areas fit for medium industries and processing plants, he said.

The ARMM government under the Aquino administration named the Polloc Port an international facility, pursuing an uphill campaign to make it a stimulus of regional economic growth.

The momentum, however, nose dived when the national government through the PPA devolved the operations of wharves in ARMM including Port of Polloc to the regional autonomous governance sans the manpower item-positions and the corresponding funds in 2002

In recent problem-solving meetings, regional officials led by ARMM Executive Secretary Naguib Sinarimbo had crafted measures to push for the immediate declaration of the facility as free port and enhance its operations from the grim effects of the lamentable devolution process, setting up Monday’s occasion.

According to Sinarimbo and Mohammad, Monday’s declaration posed a “hard work” for the new ARMM leadership to “buck down to work and realize a giant mission of achieving a vibrant maritime hub” in mainland Mindanao .

The ARMM officials appealed to maritime industry players and foreign donor-institutions to “help us attain this goal and push the ARMM towards a greater height.”

In response, officials of the World Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency, Asian Development Bank, Canadian International Dev’t Agency, Asia Foundation, International Labor Organization, USAID, UNFPA, UNIDO, ILO, UNDP and other foreign institutions assured continued assistance to ARMM.

ARMM is composed of the cities of Marawi and Lamitan and the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, which all have been lagging behind in various development dimensions.

National authorities have blamed the ARMM’s slow growth to peace and order problems, but regional economists argued that the region’s dismal share from the central government funding supports coupled with stringent national laws and policies is the “main impeding factor.”

In his campaign salvo, manager Mohammad said the free port would attract potential partners and investors for industrial estates, export processing, free trade, commercial centers, enterprises and tourism ventures, among others.

He said the port, being the major trading backdoor in the south, would initially operate actively in the commercial ventures of the Brunei , Indonesia , Malaysia and Philippines ’ East Asian Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).

Tax holidays, capital equipment incentives, exemptions from real property and local taxes, and attractive build-operate and transfer scheme await investors in Barangay Polloc, the just-declared special economic zone, which lies in the southern coast of the harbour 14-kilometer north of Cotabato City, he said. (Ali G. Macabalang)

PRO ARMM WILL HOST THE 17th Leg Transformation Caravan of the PNP headed by C,PNP himself

2010-03-25T23:36:00.000-07:00

March 9, 2010

The advance party of C,PNP’s Project Management Staff and Senior Police Officers composing the Transformation Caravan will be arriving at Awang Airport today. This is part of the 17th Leg Transformation Caravan program headed by the C,PNP himself.

The PNP Integrated Transformation Program or the ITP was born three years ago. Since then, various institutional changes within the PNP have been implemented. The main thrust of this program is to bring about a better, faster and more effective delivery of police services to the public.

On March 10-12, 2010, the Police Regional Office ARMM will host the 17th leg of transformation caravan spearheaded by no less than highest officer of the PNP PDGEN JESUS A VERZOSA, CPNP.

The series of activities to be undertaken by the Regional Office are geared towards raising the level of consciousness of the PNP personnel and the community at large of the role that the PNP has over the community and the important participation of the community towards achieving a lasting peace and development to our society. These activities also help foster and strengthen the commitment of our personnel towards their duties and responsibilities.

Main highlight of which is the torch run to be conducted on March 12, 2010, Friday. The PNP ITP Torch relay will start at 5:00 o’clock in the morning from Regional Science High School, Brgy. Sarmiento with warm-up exercises to be lead by RSTU (Regional Special Training Unit) personnel and will end at PRO ARMM Grandstand, Camp BGen SK Pendatun, Parang, Maguindanao. The Regional Director PCSUPT BEINVENIDO LATAG, members of the Command Group, Directorial Staff, BC, 15th RPSMB, C,RHSG and Chief, NASUs/NOSUs will join C,PNP VERZOSA in the said relay.

Participants of the event include personnel from the AFP, force multipliers, NGOs, Private sectors, Religious Sectors and students. They are expected to arrive at the finish line at PRO ARMM Grandstand, Camp BGen SK Pendatun, Parang, Maguindanao at about 7:00 AM of same date. Water points will be placed in every 3 km distance.

A program proper will then follow. This will be capped by tree planting and distribution of the torch – shaped Norfolk tree to the five (5) Provincial Directors from Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-tawi, Lanao and Maguindanao Police Provincial Offices and Battalion Commanders of the Regional Public Safety Management Battalion of ARMM. These trees shall then be planted at their respective headquarters. The tree planting will be headed by PDIR VERZOSA (C,PNP), PCSUPT LATAG (RD, PRO ARMM) and PMO Officers at the vicinity of the PRO ARMM Commissioned Officers Center (COC).

A Multi-sector Stakeholders Forum will then follow the tree planting activities.

596 more villages in ARMM to benefit from new WB fund

2010-03-25T23:29:00.000-07:00

March 5, 2010

COTABATO CITY – At least 596 war-affected barangays in the Autonomous Region in Muslim are eyed as beneficiaries in a $30-million fund sought from the World Bank (WB) to bankroll a three-year extension in ARMM Social Fund Project (ASFP) efforts.

ASFP officials made this announcement Thursday as they corrected an earlier report, which erroneously stated that the WB has already approved the fund.

“It was actually the NEDA (National Economic Development Authority) Board chaired by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo that recently approved the fund request from the WB. The bank has yet to decide on the request, although we anticipate its positive action,” ASFP information specialist Irene Fernandez Gonzales said.

In a press briefing here last month, ASFP Project Manager Nasser Sinarimbo urged for public cooperation in their project implementation, stressing that the national government and WB have earmarked the loan for ARMM alone this time.

“The fund is a loan and all Filipinos are supposed to pay it back. We have to see to it that every penny of it is spent religiously in response to the trust the national government endows us,” Sinarimbo told newsmen.

The WB additional financing, which is about P1.41-billion, will “help boost the parallel efforts of the regional and national government to develop the ARMM communities affected by conflict,” Gonzales said.

It will run for three years with two components: The community development assistance (CDA) and the institutional strengthening and governance (ISG), she said.

The ASFP is “adopting the community demand-driven (CDD) approach in its implementation of WB-funded projects in ARMM areas such as the 596 more barangays identified as beneficiaries," Gonzales added.

Foreign institutions including the WB have been assisting the ASFP, and as of December 2009, the CDA component has completed 1,661 community-based infrastructure subprojects out of 1,723 target units.

The CDA component has turned over 1,370 subprojects to proponent local government units (barangay and municipal levels) and line agencies ARMM, it was learned.

The ASFP, under its strategic regional infrastructure (SRI) component, has completed 13 subprojects, which included information and communication technology community research centers for district hospitals and ports in the five ARMM component provinces, Gonzales said.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) also assists the ASFP, through which it has completed three of seven SRI projects that are slated for turnover to recipient hospitals in ARMM, she said.

ASFP projects are also assisted by the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), which has already served more than 3,000 children under various components of the Basic Education Assistance in Mindanao (BEAM), Gonzales said. (Ali G. Macabalang)

DepEd-ARMM opens ‘hotlines’ for public feedback

2010-03-25T23:24:00.000-07:00

05 March 2010

COTABATO CITY–The Department of Education (DepEd) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is opening next week cellular ‘hotlines’ to give the public an avenue to air complaints or suggestions that could help resolve nagging problems concerning teachers’ welfare in the region.

Dr. Hamid Barra, DepEd-ARMM secretary, said he conceived the opening of the hotlines as part of his avowed reforms to revolutionize the operations of his department, improve its image, and improve the plight and services of at least 22,000 teachers across the region.

“Reforms should be now because we mean business this time,” Barra said, stressing that he accepted his recent appointment in the agency on condition that he could introduce drastic improvements in the agency, something Acting ARMM Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong has welcomed well.

The hotlines will allow teachers and stakeholders from the region to ventilate and convey their issues, concerns and suggestions thru text messages or calls on how the education department can be more responsive.

The hotlines are 09206388636 (Smart) and 09273106530 (Globe), Barra said.

The education official, meanwhile, announced added that the February pay checks of teachers in Maguindanao, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi were distributed on time last February 26 through the “usual process” at the division levels including their P3,000 GMA bonus.

Barra recalled that upon assuming office on order of Adiong, he personally distributed the January pay checks to more than 10,000 teachers from the five (5) divisions of Lanao del Sur province on February 6, 2010 at the Provincial Capitol Gym in Marawi City . Barra assumed office on February 1.

He said he was personally ordered by the regional governor to “make sure that salaries and benefits of our teachers are given on time because they are our priorities. How can they provide good education to our children if they are not attended to?”

“We will gradually deal with issues and concerns involving our teachers in the region,” he said, citing his inherited burden on still unpaid P300-million GSIS remittances.

Barra emphasized that one of his administration’s thrusts is “how to respond to the needs of our public schools and make their teachers more competent.”

He said he will order all public schools in the region to hold simple graduation rites this closing season.

“For their graduation attire, students can use their school uniforms,” he said. (Jo Henry/bpi-armm)

2010-03-25T23:11:00.000-07:00

Women’s month fete in ARMM. Regional Attorney-General Baratucal Caudang (inset photo), speaking in behalf of acting ARMM Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong, stresses the imperative role of women in societies at ceremonies in front of the Executive building inside the ARMM complex in Cotabato City following a parade of employees and officials of all line agencies and offices in the regional government (some of them shown in queues on March 8 in celebration of the Women’s Mont. He averred that without the women, there can be no youth Dr. Jose Rizal talked about as the “hope of the Fatherland.” (Omar Mangorsi/bpi-armm)

ARMM celebrates women’s month

2010-03-10T17:54:00.000-08:00

Cotabato City – Officials and employees of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) commit to strengthen women empowerment as the region joins in the celebration of the international women’s day and formally welcomed the observance of the national women’s month this March in a ceremony held yesterday.

The month-long celebration is spearheaded by the Regional Commission on Bangsamoro Women (RCBW) and will feature symposia on various women issues, gender and development consultations, medical and dental outreach and sports competitions that will be participated in by employees from different line agencies.

With the theme “Babae Tagumpay Ka ng Bayan”, Jasmin Domado, RCBW chairperson, stressed that “women today are living in a remarkable moment in history… and that women are powerful, and they always have been”.

“Today and the many more days and years to come, we wanted to show of how women from all walks of life dare to believe the world can be different – and put their passions and ideas into action for the betterment of the Bangsamoro Women in the ARMM”, said Domado.

On the other hand, she also acknowledged the “male counterpart” for being the women’s “partners in family rearing, community building and socio-political development” of the country.

In a message read by Attorney-General Atty. Baratucal Caudang, ARMM acting regional governor Ansaruddin Adiong said that the “the crusade of women to be regarded with the same respect, honor and status as the male sex has been taking on for a countless number of years”. However, he reaffirmed that he and the ARMM administration is one in resolving this problem. He further added that women should be empowered and their status in the society must be elevated.

Other highlight activities this women’s month would also include a trade fair exhibit, orientation on poll automation, updates on the GRP-MILF peace process and the Magna Carta for women. (bpiarmm)

ARMM’s health secretary earns the Gawad Haydee Yorac for outstanding public service

2010-03-10T17:49:00.000-08:00

Cotabato City- Dr. Kadil Sinolinding, Jr., regional secretary of the Depart of Health – Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DoH-ARMM), has been awarded this year’s Gawad Haydee Yorac for Outstanding Public Service for his exemplary and venerable work on health service by the Manila Electric Railroad And Light Company (Meralco) and the University of the Philippines.

Dr. Sinolinding is the first Filipino Muslim to receive the esteemed award founded in honor of the late Haydee Yorac, who is considered to be among the country’s respectable and dedicated public servants.

Now on its 4th year, the Gawad Haydee Yorac is conferred annually by Meralco in cooperation with the University of the Philippines to outstanding individual in public service whose personal qualities and personal lives are worth emulating.

Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, ARMM executive secretary, lauded Dr. Sinolinding for his works and for garnering the award.

He said the dedicated doctor is a pride to the people of the ARMM and boosts the reputation of the incumbent regional leadership.

The award body cites Dr. Sinolinding’s devotion of his more than 20 years of professional career to helping over a hundred thousand individuals in different parts of Mindanao especially those in remote and depressed communities. He helped organized medical outreach missions to several areas in Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Saranggani, Maguindanao and Sulu that others dared not visit.

He has also been known for his Vision 20/20 Cataract Charities Team which made eye surgery and other ophtalmological services available even to those who don’t have the means since 1991.

The award was given to Dr. Sinolinding on March 4, 2010 at Pasig City. He had been nominated by Dr. Angelo Ladub, an anesthesiologist at the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center in Cotabato City. (bpiarmm)

DOTC lapses in ARMM

2010-03-03T17:43:00.000-08:00

DOTC lapses in ARMM. Lawyer Guiling Mamondiong, undersecretary of the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) and chairman of the regional management committee (RMC) for Regions IX, XII and ARMM (3rd from right), answers queries from Teng L. Datu (inset) of Goldstar Daily Cotabato Bureau chief during the DOTC-RMC-ARMM Ulat sa Bayan Press Conference in Cotabato City on March 2. Mamondiong was told of issues on some functions and resources DOTC has not devolved to ARMM, just like other line agencies in the autonomous region. With Mamondiong are ARMM Deputy Executive Secretary Abdullah Cusain (right), DOTC-ARMM Executive Director IV Pama Dimapanat (2nd from right), DOTC-ARMM Asst. Secretary Nazir Kuddah( 4th from right) and other DOTC Officials. (omar mangorsi/bpi-armm)

2010-03-03T17:41:00.000-08:00

March 3, 2010

COTABATO CITY – Itinalaga ni Acting ARMM governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong si Juliet L. Tammang bilang bagong kalihim ng Department of Tourism sa Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Nanumpa ngayon araw ng Meirkules, March 3 sa harap ni Executive Secretary Naguib Sinarimbo at sinaksihan ni Atty. Avecina Alonto, Chief of Staff, Office of the Regional Governor (ORG) – ARMM.

Ayon kay Sinarimbo magsasagawa muna si Tammang ng assessment sa kanyang tanggapan at kakausapin muna ang mga kawani upang madetermina kung ano ang mga dapat gawin na mga programa ng nasabing ahensya upang mai-angat ang turismo sa rehiyon.

Si Secretary Tammang ay mula sa lalawigan ng Sulu at naging miembro ng Regional Assembly ng Autonomous Region mula 2002-2005 sa ilaim ng pamumuno ni dating ARMM Governor Farouk Hussein.

Kamakailan, itinalaga din ni regional governor Adiong sina Mike Amolan bilang Assistant secretary ng Department of Interior and Local Government, Romeo K. Sema bilang Chairman ng Regional Reconciliation, Unification Council, Dr. Abdulsalam Disomimba bilang Undersecretary ng Madaris at Jasmin Domado bilang chairperson ng Regional Commission Bangsamoro Women-ARMM.

Samantala, sisiguraduhin ng Department of Education o DepEd sa ARMM na matutugunan nila ang mga reklamo ng mga guro, mula sa mga magulang o kahit sino na magpapabot ng mensahe sa pamamagitan ng texting.

Ilulunsad ng DepEd-ARMM sa buong rehiyon ang kanilang hotline kung saan etetext ang mga gustong iparating na mensahe sa pamunuan ng DepEd ARMM. Ang mga numero ay 0920-6388-636 at 0927-3106-530.

Ayon kay Atty. Hamid Barra, Regional Secretary ng DepEd-ARMM kumbinsado syang malaki ang maitutulong ng nasabing hotlines sa pagpapatupad ng pagbabago sa ahensya ng Edukasyon sa rehiyon.

Ani Barra sisiguraduhin nilang matutugunan at mabigyan aksyon ang mga reklamo at magsasagwa sila ng imbestigasyon sa mga issues at concerns na etetext sa mga numerong nabanggit.

Dagdag pa ni Barra na sinisiguro nilang confidential ang identity ng mga nagtetext sa kanilang hotlines. (BPI-ARMM) &nb sp;

ARMM’s right over ‘strategic minerals’ asserted Amendment of ‘castrating’ autonomy law pressed

2010-03-03T17:39:00.000-08:00

March 3, 2010

COTABATO CITY – Breaking silence for years about deprivations within the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the ARMM’s Regional Legislative Assembly (RLA) is now pushing for amendment of existing edicts it berated as ‘castrating’ its constituents’ rights over the use of local ‘strategic minerals.”

The 24-member RLA presided over by Speaker Reggie Sahali-Generale has tasked its committee on amendments and revisions of laws to look into the protest of Lanao del Sur Assemblyman Ziaur-Rahman Alonto-Adiong against stringent laws governing the exploitation of natural resources in ARMM.

In his privilege speech here Monday, Assemblyman Adiong asked the RLA to initiate an amendment to existing laws including R.A. 9054 (ARMM Organic Act of 2002), which he said bereft the regional governance of its rights to and shares from the exploitation by “outsiders” of ‘strategic minerals” in the region.

Adiong cited as example the helpless state of the regional governance in the decades-old exploitation of Lake Lanao for hydroelectricity production and the ongoing exploration of oil deposits in an 8,200-kilometer area off the shore of Mapun Island town in Tawi-Tawi.

The exploration is done by the ExxonMobil Exploration and Production B.V. through its service contract 56 (SC 56) permitted by the national government while ARMM authorities could just watch helplessly, Adiong said.

“The SC 56 consortium began drilling activities in the area in October last year at a cost of about $1-million per day and $100-million for its first exploration well. This well, called Dabakan-1, is located about 65 kilometers from Mapun Island in Tawi-Tawi,” he pointed out.

He said the “Department of Energy claims that the SC 56 may hold up to 750 million barrels of oil, which is equivalent to seven years’ worth of local crude supply for the Philippines .”

“We, the people of ARMM, stand to lose everything and gain nothing out of the exploration," Adiong said, due to the stringent provision of R.A. 9054 that retains to the national government the sole authority to govern the exploitation of “strategic minerals” in the region.

R.A. 9054 devolves to the ARMM government the “control and supervision over the exploration, utilization, development and protection of the mines and minerals and other natural resources within the autonomous region…except for the strategic such as uranium, petroleum, and other fossil fuels, mineral oils, all sources of potential energy, as well as national reservations already delimited by authority of the central government or national government and those that may be defined by an Act of Congress.”

Adiong clarified that the “castrating provision” of R.A. 9054 could still be remedied by way of amendment to be initiated by the RLA and sustained by Congress as provided for in the same Organic Act.

He asked the RLA to propose the amendment that would endow the regional government “a measure of control and supervision over strategic minerals like uranium, petroleum, and other natural reserves and aquatic parks, forest and watershed reservations already delimited by the central government.”

In his privilege speech, Adiong said that such amendment could also address similar helplessness that ARMM faces in the central government-controlled exploitation of Lake Lanao by the National Power Corporation (NPC) as a supplier of the 85 percent or so of Mindanao ’s hydroelectricity demand.

Adiong lamented that since time immemorial, the NPC and the Department of Energy “have not disclosed where really goes the electrification fund of one (1) cent per kilowatt hour of electricity sales of NPC, as mandated by virtue of Energy Resolution 1-94.”

Earlier, Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Alonto-Adiong Jr., elder brother of the assemblyman, lamented that because of the central government controls the management of Lake Lanao and its watersheds, his administration and the ARMM government could not tinker with the sad state of the lake.

Gov. Adiong said the four major river tributaries of Lake Lanao have been heavily silted for years, impeding the inflow of water down to the lake. The provincial government has long proposed the dredging of the rivers but the central government failed to act on it.

“We are hoping the national government will finally listen to our pleas this time as Mindanao is in engulfed by rampant power outages due to the dwindling water level in Lake Lanao ,” he told journalists earlier. (Ali G. Macabalang)

Inter-agency body formed for 4Ps in ARMM

2010-03-03T17:35:00.000-08:00

March 3, 2010

COTABATO CITY - The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has formed its regional advisory committee (RAC) for the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps to intensify efforts against poverty and improve the health, nutrition, education and economic condition of its populace.

The RAC is an inter-agency cooperation that aims to effectively implement the 4Ps and translate national policies into region-specific operational guidelines, according to acting Secretary Pombae Kader of the ARMM’s Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).

The DSWD leads the RAC with the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Regional Development Planning Office (RPDO) and the ARMM’s Bureau of Public Information (BPI) as members.

The 4Ps, one of the major anti poverty programs of the government through the DSWD, is a five-year program of the President launched in 2008 amid the global economic meltdown.

It is a conditional cash transfer program originated in Latin America and Africa and was divided into three (3) sets.

Kader said the 4Ps program provides small cash grants to identified extremely poor families with the condition that the money will be spent for health and education of their children particularly from zero-fourteen (0-14) years of age.

Under the 4Ps, each family will receive monthly cash grants amounting to P1,400 for five years for health services and education of three (3) children. Each child will have P300 education or a total of P900 for the three children while the P500 will be used for the family’s basic health service.

In his recent visit here, DSWD Undersecretary Luwalhati Pablo, 4Ps National Program Director, said that since the 4Ps is “not a standalone program,” other agencies should assist her department in promoting and building the program.

As of August 2009, the program increased its target number of beneficiaries from 700,000 to 1 million households in 2008, entailing the government to increase its budget from P5-billion to P10 billion.

In the ARMM, as of August 2009, the program then covered 15 municipalities, serving approximately 30,000 households that received roughly P58 million, Kader said in her report to Pablo.

Pablo said that the program is still extending its help to 57 more municipalities and approximately 70,000 households for another five years which will be funded by international donors including American Development Fund, World Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). (bpi-armm)

Japan-given computers for ARMM

2010-02-24T02:05:00.001-08:00

Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Project Formulation Advisor for Mindanao Takashi Komori (seated left foreground) and ARMM Executive Secretary Naguid Sinarimbo (beside him) ceremonially use one of 20 computer units JICA donated to the regional autonomous government while JICA Chief Adviser Michimasa Numata, AMS-ORG, ARMM Human Capacity Development Project Manager Lydia M. Udaundo-Mastura, JICA Business Support Expert Ryujiro Sasao and Chief of Macro Intersectoral Coordinating Assistance Division, Regional Planning Deputy Chief Baintan Adil-Ampatuan look on at simple rites in Cotabato City Tuesday. Inset photo shows the JICA and ARMM officials signing a memorandum of understanding on the use of the computer units in data banking system (Omar Mangorsi/bpi-armm)

JICA enhances ARMM bureaucracy, official says

2010-02-24T02:03:00.000-08:00

COTABATO CITY – Officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao have acknowledged sharp improvement in the ARMM bureaucracy amid the continued capacity-building support of the Japan International Cooperation (JICA), citing the Japanese entity’s generosity for underdeveloped nations.

“There is no way we can reciprocate generous package supports from the JICA than to produce a bureaucracy of competent professional workforce”, said ARMM Executive Secretary Atty. Naguib Sinarimbo during the 2nd annual progress meeting here of the Human Capacity Development Project (HCDP).

Speaking before participants of the annual meeting graced by JICA officials at a restaurant here Tuesday, Sinarimbo lauded the Japanese sponsors for their untiring supports to various initiatives aimed at improving ARMM governance.

Since 2007, JICA, a development partner of ARMM, has been bankrolling a series of manpower trainings and infrastructure development in the region, which covers Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

While lauding JICA for its significant intervention in human resources growth, Sinarimbo called on ARMM bureaucrats craft strategies the would set clear-cut policies that will ensure wise utilization of grants and similar packages the likes of JICA.

“We, officials and employees in the Autonomous government are the real faces in the ARMM; whatever we do or fail to do is real reflection on how governance is conducted in ARMM”, Sinarimbo said.

For this year’s progress meeting, technical working groups on administrative development, infrastructure development and economic development took turns in rendering positive results in their respective areas.

Impressed of the progress reports, Project Formulation Advisor for Mindanao (JICA Philippines) Mr. Takashi Komori assured his Filipino counterparts of his favorable recommendations for other program packages.

Komori said that the ill-fated incident in Maguindanao late last year has not affected the momentum and cooperation JICA has been offering ARMM.

The one-day affair winded up with JICA turning over twenty (20) more units of computers for the Human Resource Information System at the HRIS Center located at the ARMM compound here.

Morito, Sinarimbo and ARMM’s administrative management services Director Lydia Udaundo-Mastura signed a memorandum of understanding on the use of the computer units for enhance data banking system. (rkp/bpi-armm)

2010-02-24T02:02:00.000-08:00

February 23, 2010

COTABATO CITY – The Department of Health (DOH) in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) declared today that measles cases in Lanao del Sur, particularly in the coastal town of Balabagan have been fully contained after experiencing earlier a reported outbreak.

DOH-ARMM Secretary Dr. Kadil Sinolinding Jr. bared the good news through a report he submitted to acting Regional governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong, who earlier directed him to validate earlier published report on the inclusion of measles outbreak in Balabagan, Lanao del Sur.

“Please everything possible to address the reported outbreak,” Adiong was quoted as telling Dr. Sinolinding Jr. in an earlier call over the phone.

According to Sinolinding, he immediately sent health workers to investigate the report and conduct immunization against measles especially on children to avoid epidemic.

Sinolinding said seven adults and a one-year old child have been recorded in Balabagan town, Lanao del Sur. “But no fatalities were posted as we closely monitored and validated reports on the disease,” the health secretary added.

The case was recorded on January 27, 2010, according to published reports.

Earlier, according to Health Secretary Esperanza Cabral, the DOH has posted recorded a total of 609 measles cases.

She disclosed that this year, the number of measles cases recorded from January 1 to February 13 is 70 percent higher than the same period of last year.

Measles is an airborne disease and is contagious, Sinolinding said, prodding the public especially the parents to have their infant children immunized free in designated health clinics and health providers in the region.

Cabral in an interview said that “measles is a highly contagious viral disease and can also be aggravated due to overcrowding and congestion”.

But Sinolinding said there are no reports of measles outbreak in evacuation camps in Maguindanao where there are still Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) staying since August 2008 due to armed conflicts.

He said the Integrated Provincial Health Office in Maguindnao headed by Dr. Tahir Sulaik is doing well in delivering health services in the province.

“Our support package to our people in Maguindanao especially for the IDPs include comprehensive health coverage and management,” he stressed.

In 2004, the Health department launched the Ligtas Tigdas Campaign wherein no measles cases were reported from June 2004 to December 2006.

The campaign aimed to vaccinate 18 million children between 9 months and 8 years old using a door-to-door strategy nationwide which decreased measles cases in the country by 96 percent and death from measles by 99 percent.

Prior to Ligtas Tigdas campaign, an estimated 6,000 Filipino children majority coming from the poor households who has least access to public health died from measles.

“DOH-ARMM will continue to deliver the basic health services due our people in the region as concrete manifestation of the seriousness of regional governor Adiong to address the health requirement of his people,” Sinolinding said.

DOH-ARMM said symptoms of measles include fever, general weakness and occasionally red eyes. But these symptoms usually come before skin rash confirming the onset of the disease. It is transmitted through droplets from the nose, mouth or throat of infected person. (johenry/agm/BPI-ARMM)

Tawi-Tawi celebrates rich harvest of food crops

2010-02-24T02:01:00.000-08:00

February 23, 2010

BONGAO, Tawi-Tawi – Farmers and residents in his province celebrated on Monday what they described as bountiful harvest of food crops in their maiden “Cassava and Banana Harvest Festival” here in this provincial capital town.

Despite its being on the list of the poorest provinces in the country, Tawi-Tawi Gov. Sadikul Sahali averred that food production flourishes in the province and the people here never run out of something to eat as amplified in the festival’s theme, “Nobody…Nobody Goes Hungry in Tawi-Tawi.”

Unknown to many, Tawi-Tawi has gained fame for its massive seaweeds production and rich marine resource, and has been attaining surplus production of cassava – a staple food here and in the neighboring provinces of Sulu and Basilan.

There are more than 19,000 hectares of arable lands planted with cassava in the province , producing close to 170,000 metric tons of harvest in a year.

Sangkula Tindick, the provincial agricultural officer, puts the province’s cassava surplus at around 40%. Some of which reach markets in Sabah, which is just few hours travel from Tawi-Tawi, and even in the municipality of Siasi in Sulu.

He said the province has been consistently producing excessive supply of cassava in the last seven to 10 years when they began advocating for the farming of the said crop and fruit trees such as mango throughout the province. Their office provided trainings and seedlings to the farmers.

Almost all of the major islands in the province have their cultivated lands planted with cassava, banana or mango, according to Tindick, adding that these lands used to be idle.

Even the famous Turtle Island was not taken out of the picture. The provincial agriculture office has launched a project few years back in the island, which Tindick dubbed as the “greening” of Turtle Island, encouraging locals to plant cassava and mango trees.

Their campaign has paid off really well, said Tindick. Now, the province’s people and economy will not just be relying on marine resource but on the similarly rich soil as well, he said. (bpiarmm)

‘Punitive’ GAA provision imperils ARMM operations Urgent Presidential veto sought

2010-02-24T01:57:00.000-08:00

February 23, 2010

New officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao are calling for an urgent veto of what they lamented yesterday as "grossly punitive” provision in this year’s General Appropriations Act (GAA) governing fund releases to the ARMM governance.

Unless saved by a Presidential veto this week, the ARMM operations are in peril of "paralysis," officials led by acting ARMM Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong disclosed in vehemence.

“I humbly implore (for) an audience anytime this week (to bring out personally) our grave concern before said flaw becomes irreversible," Adiong stressed in his letter to the President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo dated Feb. 22, five days before the mandate of GAA provisions take effect on Feb. 27.

Adiong was referring to special provision No. 2 on the ARMM budget in page 881 of GAA 2010, which states that “no subsequent release shall be made unless previous funds released to the ARMM were audited by a special audit team based in Manila and designated for the purpose.”

The same provision slates that “any disbursement that not been liquidated, audited and/or disallowed by the special audit team shall be deducted from subsequent releases (for the ARMM from this year’s GAA).”

The 24-member Regional Legislative Assembly (ARMM) and five provincial governments in ARMM have prepared separate manifestations protesting the GAA provision, which they described as an affront to the wisdom of installing the Adiong regime purportedly to reform the regional governance.

The Arroyo administration has detained and indicted ARMM Governor Zaldy Uy Ampatuan in connection with the Nov. 23, 2009 massacre of 57 people including 31 journalists in Maguindanao. It also ordered a special audit of the fund disbursements of the suspended leadership on suspicion of alleged graft.

“At a time when (ARMM) needs to rebuild its image from accusations of graft, inefficiency and violence, the (budget) restriction will severely affect our efforts to implement strategic regional infrastructures and basic social services that, aside from improving the lot of our people, would (prove) that ARMM remains as a relevant, functional and beneficial politico-administrative unit,” a draft of an RLA resolution said.

The draft resolution said the RLA members are "collectively opposed to such provision and earnestly appealing” to President Arroyo “to veto” it.

This year’s GAA earmarks P9.2-billion budget for ARMM. The amount covers some 70 percent share for personnel services, 25 percent maintenance and operating expense funds and P850-million capital outlay.

“The ARMM’s 2010 budget constitutes less than 1% of the national budget, but the new regional leadership has vowed to utilize it to the optimum benefit of its constituents under the principles on transparent, consultative and moral governance,” regional Executive Secretary Naguib Sinarimbo said.

The provincial governments of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi are equally alarmed of the stringent budget provision because they stand to share P150-million each for vital infra projects while the regional government would share only P100-million for similar projects, records said.

Unless timely vetoed, the budgetary “flaw” would do a “collective punishment” against all the workforces and constituents of the regional governance, said Sinarimbo, a lawyer.

He said the budget provision is “unwarranted” because there is no certainty in the length of period the audit on the Ampatuan administration’s expenditures would be completed.

“While all well-meaning people of ARMM support the comprehensive audit on past fund releases and the prosecution of officials culpable of misdemeanors, we should not be held hostage to its proceedings and outcome,” he said.

ARMM news analyst Raymundo Pelaez, a law graduate, berated as “illogical” the interpolation of the stiff provision into the GAA because while it “appeared serious to sanction people suspected of wrong doings, it squeezes the necks of new leaders the national government installed to institute reforms.”

“In ARMM, more often than not, investigations or comprehensive fund audits are synonymous to infinity. Therefore, holding the new ARMM regime solely dependent on the result of the audit of fund disbursements they have nothing to do with, is a virtual act of sabotage,“ Pelaez added. (AGM/bpi-armm)

MOA signing on social fund projects in ARMM

2010-02-24T01:55:00.001-08:00

ARMM Social Fund Project (ASFP) led by project manager Engr. Nasser Sinarimbo (3rd from right) inks a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with local officials of Lanao del Sur – Saguiran mayor Rasmia Macabago (1st from right); Lumba Bayabao mayor Minda Dagalangit (2nd from right); Ditsaan-Ramain mayor Actar Marmar (3rd from left), Masiu mayor Nasser Pangandaman, Jr. (2nd from left) and Dr. Lampa Pandi of Poona Bayabao (1st from left) on the implementation of the ASFP projects in their respective localities at a meeting in Cagayan de Oro City on February 19, 2010. Witnessing the signing are (from R-L) Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Consultancy team head Engr. Domingo Guarinio; Mr. Norodin Lumambas and Ms. Irene Gonzales of the ASFP; Hja Mariam Abdulkasan of DSWD-ARMM; Lanao del Sur provincial social welfare officer Ms. Liamen Laut; JICA expert Mr. Tito Oria and Ms. Ayrin Sales of the ASFP. Inset photo shows Sinarimbo addresses participants of the LGU orientation meeting held by the ASFP shortly before the MOA signing rites where he announced that the International Bank for Reconstruction and Rehabilitation (IBRD) or World Bank approved the $30 million additional funding for more barangays of the ARMM that have not yet received ASFP projects. (bpi-armm)

MoA signing on social fund projects in ARMM

2010-02-24T01:52:00.000-08:00

ARMM Social Fund Project (ASFP) led by project manager Engr. Nasser Sinarimbo (3rd from right) inks a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with local officials of Lanao del Sur - Mayor Mauyag Papandaya, Jr. of Tubaran (1st from right); Mayor Jamal Asum of Lumbayanague (2nd from right); Mayor Cabib Tanog of Pualas (2nd from left) and Mayor Baguio Macapodi of Ganassi (1st from left) on the implementation of the ASFP projects in their respective localities at a meeting in Cagayan de Oro on February 17, 2010. Witnessing the signing are (from L-R) Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) expert Mr. Tito Oria; DSWD-ARMM Community Development Assisstance (CDA) manager Hja Mariam Abdulkasan; Mr. Norordin Lumambas, Mr. Opao Tiboron of the ASFP and Mr. Wally Garoy of the Consultancy Team office of the JICA. Inset photos shows Sinarimbo addresses participants of an orientation meeting held by the ASFP shortly before the MOA signing rites where he announced that the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) or World Bank approved the $30 million additional funding for more barangays of the ARMM that have not yet received ASFP projects. (bpi-armm)

Lanao’s recipients of foreign-funded projects oriented

2010-02-24T01:47:00.000-08:00

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Pursuing full-swing peace and development initiatives in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the ARMM Social Fund Project (ASFP) has oriented and linked up with local government units (LGU) officials in Lanao del Sur to make them program implementing partners.

ASFP officials led by Project Manager Nasser Sinarimbo brainstormed with municipal and barangay officials from Lanao del Sur at a five-day orientation meeting that ended here Sunday.

During the conference, ASFP officials and some participating local officials from Lanao del Sur entered into agreements providing for the implementation of community-based infrastructure projects funded by foreign donor-institutions through the ASFP.

The ASFP was created by the national government in 2006 to implement in ARMM areas development projects funded through soft loans from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) or World Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

The World Bank has recently approved a US$30 million additional financing support through ASFP to cover more barangays from the six component provinces of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi and Basilan and two cities of Marawi and Lamitan that have not yet benefited from the agency’s projects and services.

The ASFP operations’ lifespan was supposed to end in June last year, but officials and residents in ARMM have persuaded the national government and participating foreign institutions to extend the operations that led to the approval of the fresh loan.

“The extended program operations entails substantial fund that every Filipinos will have to pay for it but is earmarked only for ARMM. It is a special privilege we must enjoy with utmost care to show we are worthy of trust,” Engr. Sinarimbo told a press briefing earlier held in Cotabato City.

In pursuit of the policy of acting ARMM Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong on moral, transparent and consultative governance, the five-day orientation was held here to be able to ensure successful implementation of ASFP projects by recipient LGUs, he said.

The orientation had clarified the roles and functions of the Municipal Multi Stakeholders Committee (MMSC), Municipal Team (MT) and Local Chief Executives (LCEs), the responsibilities of the LGUs on procurement and management and project financial management and status in the said project implementation, added Sinarimbo.

He said that as of December last year, 862 of of the 2,486 barangays in ARMM have been covered by the Social Fund projects since year 2003.

In a message read for him by ARMM cabinet secretary Pangilaman Mamowalas, Gov. Adiong his transitional regime will support and pursue development undertakings that would help mitigate hunger and reduce poverty incidence, boost economic condition and improve education and health services in the entire region.

ARMM Social Fund Project has three major components, namely: Strategic Regional Infrastructure (SRI); capacity-building of recipients on livelihood and food sufficiency programs; and the Institutional Strengthening and Governance (ISG) that supports the mechanisms to project management and enhanced governance. (Naila Salik/bpi-armm)

Water system project for waterless town

2010-02-24T01:44:00.001-08:00

President Arroyo, assisted by (from her left) Taraka, Lanao del Sur Mayor Amenodin Sumagayan, Muslim Mindanao acting Regional Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong and Provincial Governor Mamintal "Bombit" Alonto-Adiong Jr. lays down the capsule for the P29-million water works system in ground-breaking rites at barangay Petakus in Taraka town on Wednesday. Looking from left are Lanao Sur Rep. Fayzah RPM Dumarpa and ALIF party list Rep. Acmad Tomawis. The President, who was received by thousands of young and old villagers in Taraka, where her late gather former President Diosdado Macapagal set foot in 1965, also broke the ground for similar water works project in nearby Masiu town. An estimated 70,000 villagers, who have been getting drinking water from a muddy river, will benefit from the projects, Mayor Sumagayan, president of the Lanao del Sur mayors’ league, said. (Omar Mangorsi/bpi-armm)

Arroyo opens vital projects in south, bares growth in Muslim Mindanao

2010-02-24T01:43:00.001-08:00

February 18, 2010

TARAKA, Lanao del Sur – Received warmly by thousands of young and old villagers here where her late father former President Diosdado Macapagal set foot in 1965, President Arroyo led Wednesday the ground breaking of a P29-million water works system to end the local residents’ dependence to muddy river for drinking water.

The President also formally opened here the P3.5-million public market building she bankrolled through her social fund three years ago to spur what she underscored as agri-business ventures needed to bring the rural town to greater heights.

Ms. Arroyo also broke the ground for a similar P29-million water work system in the nearby Masiu, the hometown of Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman, who informed here of the "monumental projects” former President Macapagal put up in the two rural towns in 1965.

In her brief speech, the lady chief executive lauded the administrations of Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal "Bombit" Alonto-Adiong Jr. and his younger brother, Muslim Mindanao acting Regional Governor Ansaruddin A. Adoing, saying that poverty in the Maranao province has been alleviated tremendously.

“I am happy to announce that Lanao del Sur has graduated from being one of the 10 poorest provinces in the country,” Ms. Arroyo said, stirring a resounding applause from thousands of young and old well-wishers and residents.

She said the incumbent local officials should continue to infuse agri-business projects in the province that would not only assure their residents three-square meals daily but also allow them to export agricultural crops to neighboring areas.

Gov. Adiong alongside his brother, the ARMM acting governor and Taraka Mayor Sumagayan, who chairs the provincial mayors’ league, said the President visit would boost the morale of her allies in pushing for the victory of administration candidates in the coming elections.

Mayor Sumagayan said with optimism the President would remain a national leader to keep serving Muslim areas because she will overwhelmingly get elected to a seat Pampanga’s Congressional district and to the House speakership eventually.

"Surely, she will make it in the Pampanga and in the House of Representatives, and her administration candidates will dominate Taraka town, the province of Lanao del Sur and the Muslim Mindanao region in the coming political exercises,” Sumagayan said.

Prior to her visit in Masiu town and here Wednesday, the President also inaugurated some infrastructure projects in Kabuntalan, Maguindanao, another component of the administration’s political bailiwick Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

She also visited the equally pro-administration officials of Sultan Kudarat province led by Rep. Pax Mangudadatu and his son, Governor Suharto “Teng” Mangudadatu.

The President did not speak about politics in her latest Mindanao field sorties, but her local allies said the visits were a “big plus factor” for administration’s national bets led by their standard bearer former Defense Chief Gilbert Teodoro.

Interior and Local Governments Secretary Ronaldo Puno, a staunch campaigner for Teodoro, accompanied the President in Maguindanao where residents still reel from the nightmarish effect of the Nov. 23 massacre of 57 people including 31 journalists. (Ali G. Macabalang)

Pact on deployment of 36,000 OFWs from ARMM to KL

2010-02-24T01:32:00.000-08:00

Pact on deployment of 36,000 OFWs from ARMM to KL. Labor regional secretary Myra M. Alih of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (left) and Dato Sri Majaraja Di Raja Zulkepley Dahalan of the Malaysia-based G20 (seated next) sign an memorandum of understanding (MoU) prescribing the latter to recruit 36,000 household skilled workers from ARMM in six-year period starting this year at formal ceremonies in Kuala Lumpur last Feb. 3. Also shownin the photo are G20 vice chair Khor Kai Keng and Executive Seretary Fiona Low Yuet Leng. (Ali G. Macabalang/bpi-armm)

Deployment of 36,000 OFWs in Malaysia set in KL-ARMM pact

2010-02-24T01:00:00.000-08:00

Here’s good news for domestic skilled works-seeking Filipinos, especially from the lagging and troubled communities of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

The ARMM government and the G20, a group of prominent recruitment agencies in Malaysia, have sealed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) prescribing the latter to employ 36,000 household skilled workers (HSWs) from the component areas of the autonomous region within six-year period, acting Regional Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong announced yesterday.

Adiong said a team from the ARMM’s Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) led by regional secretary Myra Mangkabung-.Alih inked the MoU with the G20 headed by chairman Dato Sri Maharaja Di Raja Zulkepley Dahalan in Kula Lumpur last Feb. 3.

Under the Mou, the G20 will recruit 500 HSWs from ARMM every month with free placement fees, flight fares, and board and lodging in Malaysia, an arrangement crafted especially for the economically-gripped communities in the five provinces and two cities of ARMM, Alih said.

ARMM Executive Secretary Naguib Sinarimbo said Secretary Alih would brief Adiong on the details of the MoU before she meets DOLE Secretary Marianito D. Roque this week in Manila as a prelude to the fixing of a “win-win” wage rate in the MoU.

The prevailing government monthly wage rate for overseas household workers is US$400, but the G20 would want a minimal adjustment for it to accommodate OFWs in magnitude, Alih said.

Alih said a follow-up meeting with the G20 officials within this or next month will fix the agreed monthly rate for the recruits from ARMM.

The fixed rate will be observed religiously by employers identified by the G20, contrary to other prevailing arrangements where OFWs have not actually been receiving fully what they signed for in contracts, Alih explained.

In her Feb. 3 meeting with G20 officials, Alih said, participating Malaysian recruitment agencies have also assured to help in the employment in Kula Lumpur of jobless graduates of technical and skill trainings under the ARMM’s Technical Education and Skill Development Authority.

Over 4,000 residents in ARMM have already graduated from TESDA-ARMM trainings in recent months, Sinarimbo said. (Ali G. Macabalang/bpi-armm)

ARMM pushes for better ports

2010-02-17T20:51:00.001-08:00

Cotabato City - The regional ports management of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) vies to improve ports services and revenue generation in the region as it pursues full devolution and further compliance to international maritime standards this year.

The management and technical staff of the 7 major seaports in the ARMM convened in a two-day conference, Feb. 15-16, to lay down viable plans to take on the considerably dismal condition of ports in the region.

Pagras Biruar, General Manager of the Regional Ports Management Authority (RPMA), said the conference is designed to have a thorough evaluation of present ports management and operation in the region and identify means for improvement.

Most of the problems faced by ARMM’s ports management stem from its not being entirely devolved to the autonomous government.

All 7 seaports have to rely on locally generated revenues to support their operation and respective workforce. The same problem has also led to intricacies that keep these ports from providing decent services and better revenue collection.

Atty. Naguib Sinarimbo, ARMM executive secretary, said the incumbent regional leadership will place emphasis on the improvement of ports, to include airports, as “the ports mirror the region – the regional government and its people.”

He said people from outside ARMM get their first taste of the region via its ports upon their arrival and their impression of the ports somehow affects their perception of the region as a whole.

Sinarimbo said that it is “imperative to push for greater devolution.” The regional ports management authority is already devolved to the region. He said the regional government will work to have the corresponding plantilla positions devolved to the region as well.

Sinarimbo also said that they have talked to some funding agencies to seek support in the training of personnel on port management and would include port improvement among his talking points in his scheduled visit to Malaysia. (bpiarmm)

ARMM pushes for better ports

2010-02-17T20:51:00.000-08:00

No sugar shortage, price hike in ARMM - DTI official

2010-02-16T01:33:00.001-08:00

COTABATO CITY – There is no shortage of sugar supply and sharp price hike of such commodity in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, officials of the ARMM’s trade and industry department assured Monday.

Lawyer Asnaira Batua, ARMM-Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) secretary, in her report to acting Regional Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong, said the five-province and two-city region has a buffer stock of sugar enough to last for at least three months.

“We have enough supply of sugar in the region. While the demand is high and there’s no price increase,” Batua assured amid reports of sugar shortage and sharp price hikes in other parts of the country.

She said the component areas of ARMM are “not really affected” by sugar price hike, citing the situation in Maguindanao the stuff’s price is low due to low transportation or freight cost. The local cost of white sugar cost is P45 per kilo gram while brown sugar is P34 a kilo, she added.

In Lanao del Sur, Batua said, the province's sufficient sugar supply come from Iligan and Bukidnon and is sold at P46 per kilo for white sugar and P54 per kilo for brown.

The DTI-ARMM official assured that her field personnel have been closely monitoring sugar supply and prices in different establishments in the region in coordination with the Local Price Monitoring Councils of the local government units (LGUs).

Batua said that in the provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi there is enough supply of sugar. “They’re supply come from Sabah”. In Jolo, Sulu white sugar cost P52, brown sugar cost P40 per kilo while in Tawi-Tawi, white cost P40 and brown cost P50 per kilo.

In Basilan, Batua said brown sugar cost P48 while white sugar cost P55/ kilo.

Meanwhile, Batua said there is no report on any violation on overpricing of cement in the region.

The young secretary who is also a lawyer appealed to all consumers in the region to be vigilant and immediately report to DTI office and law enforcers on any irregularity on the product and if its overpriced. (bpi-armm)

Employment of 10,000 youth in ARMM mulled

2010-02-16T01:20:00.000-08:00

COTABATO CITY – The new administration of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is pushing for the empowerment of the youth sector in the region via employment or migration scheme it crafted in a two-day workshop here.

“The concern of the youth should be the concern of everyone” said ARMM’s Labor and Employment regional secretary Myra Alih) during the Inception Workshop on Millennium Development Goals concerning Youth, Employment and Migration (MDG-YEM) held at Hotel Castro on February 15-16.

Officials of ARMM and the provincial government of Maguindanao conducted the the 2-day workshop, which was participated in by youth organizations from the province who helped draft an action plan on varied alternatives to provide them decent local and overseas jobs.

Alih stressed that despite the problems faced by Filipino youth especially in Maguindanao such as poverty, armed conflicts, child exploitation in combat and child labor, the ARMM governance led by acting Regional Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong would “never give up” on empowering the youth.

In different occasions, the 40-year old Adiong, the youngest ARMM chief executive, has emphasized the need to make the youth “productive citizens.”

THE MDG-YEM is a project funded by foreign donors International Organization for Migration (IOM), International Labour Organization (ILO), United Nation Population Fund (UNFPA) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) through the initiative of DOLE-ARMM.

It is also assisted by other government agencies in ARMM including Department of Education (DepEd), Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), National Youth Commission (NYC), National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW) and National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).

The program started on July 2009 and would run for a three (3) year period. In Maguindanao, the program was already launched last October 26, 2009 at ORG Compound wherein problems and concerns of the youth residing in the area were initially tackled.

A total of 10,000 poor and vulnerable young men and women aging 15-24 years old are targeted to be the beneficiaries of the said project. They must be high school graduate of an out-of school youth, in-school youth, OFW or youth left behind by OFW parents.

Aside from Maguindanao, three (3) other -provinces are recipients of the MDG-YEM. These are Agusan del Sur, Antique and Masbate.

Fatima Cherry Pangilamen, YEM Focal Person and Provincial Head, Maguindanao, DOLE-ARMM, said the initial funding for the MDG-YEM in Maguindanao is approximately 80 million pesos.

The project seeks to enable youth to be productive and competitive. This is through promotion of the entry and retention of youth in local job markets, creation of opportunities for sustainable livelihood, improvement of access to and retention in secondary education and harnessing remittances to contribute to the development of employment alternatives for youth.

“Through the YEM window, the MDG Achievement Fund, seeks to support interventions that promote sustainable productive employment and decent work for young people either at national or local level, including through a better management of the positive and negative effects of migration and by enhancing local capacities to develop, implement and monitor effective policies and programs in this domain” Pangilamen added. (Haj Kabalu/bpi-armm)

ARMM and DENR national ink MOA on Upland Development Program

2010-02-11T02:34:00.000-08:00

Cotabato City – The Autonomous Regional Government and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) national has recently forged a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on Upland Development Program.

The ARMM team led by DENR Regional Secretary Usman Saranggani singed the MOA with his national counterpart, secretary Eleazar Quinto on February 4, 2010 in Metro Manila.

The Upland Development Program is a national government undertaking aimed at supporting the implementation and sustainability of forestry program to reduce the impact of the global financial crisis in the country, and enhance the country’s capacity to adapt to climate change.

Sec. Sarangani said the P28-million worth program could improve productivity and strengthen the soil and water conservation functions of forest lands as upland agricultural farms through agroforestry and reforestation schemes in the autonomous region, sec. Saranggani said.

With this signing of the agreement, effective management and protection of the forest and forest lands in the region such as watersheds, mangroves, urban parks, coastal zones and protected areas would be a joint-focal activity, Sarangani said

The agreement took into consideration the potentials of these areas that play a vital role in providing water for irrigation, power and potable water system, he added stressed.

The program will also improve incomes for farmers in upland areas and is expected to create thousands of jobs through forest and watersheds rehabilitation in support of the government’s initiatives to mitigate hunger and poverty reduction program.

Major activities of the said program will be the establishment and operation of nurseries, development of forest plantations and agroforestry farms, rehabilitation of river banks and watershed areas, enrichment planting of inadequately stocked areas and assisted natural regeneration. (bpi-armm)

ARMM Teachers' welfare campaign launched

2010-02-09T01:05:00.000-08:00

February 9, 2010

COTABATO CITY – The new administration of the Department of Education (DepEd) of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has kicked off a campaign against unauthorized deductions or contributions from the pay checks of teachers in the region, starting with Lanao del Sur where the illegal scheme was reported rampant.

On his 6th day in office and upon order of regional governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong, newly installed DepEd-ARMM Secretary Hamid Barra personally distributed the January pay checks to more than 10,000 teachers from the five (5) divisions of Lanao del Sur province on February 6, 2010 at the Provincial Capitol Gym in Marawi City.

Barra said he was personally directed by the regional governor to “make sure that no teacher will go home without his paycheck.”

The inter-personal distribution of checks in Lanao del Sur was first of its kind designed to minimize if not eliminate cases of illegal “contributions” allegedly exacted by local education officials from as much as P1,700 each teacher per month.

Barra said the Adiong leadership is seriously committed to give what is due to teachers. “We mean business this time,” he stressed.

He said the January pay checks of teachers in Maguindanao, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi were distributed on time through the “usual process” at the division levels.

DepEd-ARMM has more than 22,000 personnel across the region, about 90 percent of which are teachers.

In an interview, Barra stressed that he accepted his appointment in the DepEd on condition he could introduce drastic reforms in the department, something Adiong approved.

“He (Adiong) also wants reforms in DepEd-ARMM. We have the same concern,” Barra said.

Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno installed Adiong as acting governor last Dec. 11 following the detention of Regional Governor Zaldy Ampatuan in connection with the Nov. 23 massacre in Maguindanao, and on the heel of reports that teacher-applicants were exacted P100,000 to P150,000 each to get appointed.

Barra said his agency will soon establish a hot line where in teachers and stakeholders could convey their concerns and suggestions thru text messages or call.

Barra is determined to implement reforms based on his four (4) core values – knowledge, faith, virtue and practice.

The department is conducting Comprehensive Evaluation and Assessment before reforms will take place and this comes in three phases.

Surprise visits will be conducted to inspect physical facilities of schools in the region and to conduct meetings with school heads to listen to their reports and issues and concerns.

Barra assures that the issues and concerns submitted to his office will be looked into. Teachers from all over the region submitted issues like the unremitted GSIS contributions and arrears, delayed approval of appointments and reclassification and the unpaid salaries of some teachers.

“We will gradually deal with all these issues and concerns. We will look for strategies to solve these concerns of our teachers in the region,” Barra said.

A compliance and management audit will be conducted to assess the extent if teachers are in conformity with the standing rules and regulation of the department and the finance and personnel of the school or office will also be verified.

Barra also warned fixers in the department that they will be sanctioned if proven that they are involved in the “selling of appointments”.

“There will be no sale of items. Those who passed the examination, give them what they deserved. Items are not for sale,” Barra stressed.

He called on the more than 20,000 teachers all over the region to do their job and be committed to the profession. “We are here to work as a team, to work for the future of our children. This is for their education,” Barra stressed. (johenry/bpi-armm)

Women empowerment.

2010-02-09T01:03:00.000-08:00

Hadja Pombaen Kader, social welfare regional assistant secretary in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, assures members of the Badak Women Association of her agency's assistance during the two-day women assembly recently at Barangay Badak, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao. The Badak Women Association is groomed to become a model community women group in the ARMM. (bpi-armm)

2010-02-09T01:00:00.000-08:00

08 February 2010

DATU ODIN SINSUAT, Maguindanao – One hundred women benefited from a two-day women’s assembly organized by the Department of Social Welfare and Development in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DSWD-ARMM) to make them accessible to government services and projects.

These beneficiaries belong to the Badak Women Association composed Moro and Tiruray women from different sitios of Barangay Badak.

According to DSWD-ARMM assistant secretary Pombaen Kader, the assembly enables these women craft plans and programs strengthen their association with the assistance of ARMM agencies such as the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF), and the Technical Education Skills and Development Authority (TESDA).

With the support of DSWD-ARMM, the Badak Women Association has been recipient of the Learning Livelihood and Food Sufficiency (LLFS) program of the ARMM Social Fund Projects through its Community Development Assistance (CDA), which promotes local women empowerment, said Kader, who is concurrent acting DSWD-ARMM secretary.

The LLFS program trains participants on livelihood and income-generating activities, and also undertakes functional literacy training that requires 150-hour classroom sessions under the non-formal education by the Department of Education (DepEd).

The training provides women and mothers especially from the far-flung areas basic ability to read and write as well as mathematics. It also affords them technical, financial and material support for the household food sufficiency which is designed to address the nutritional needs of their families.

Ms. Jennylyn Yap of the DSWD-ARMM said that their office is now planning to make Badak Women Association as model women group in the entire region for them to continuously avail of the services of the women’s welfare program of the DSWD-ARMM.

About 270 communities are being targeted for the Learning Livelihood and Food Sufficiency as part of its sustainability program under the CDA component of the ARMM Social Fund Project. (bpi-armm)

2010-02-07T22:42:00.000-08:00

One scholar, one town program. A Maranao students from one ofr higher educational institution in Lanao del Sur (right) receives from ARMM acting Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong her certificate of scholarship as CHED-ARMM Chair Norma Sharief (second from left) and her two subordinate officials look on at the opening of the first regional solidarity games, academic and cultural events competitions in Marawi City on Wednesday. (Ali G. Macabalang)

Adiong opens ARMM’s inter-collegiate competitions One town, one scholar program launched

2010-02-07T22:38:00.001-08:00

February 4, 2010

MARAWI CITY – The Commission on Higher Education of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (CHED-ARMM) opened here on Wednesday its first regional solidarity games, academic and cultural events competitions covering initially 20 of the region’s higher educational institutions (HEIs) due to operational kinks.

Acting ARMM Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Alonto graced the opening rites of the four-day affairs, which was held in conjunction with the awarding of scholarship grant for each of the 117 towns in the region.

In addition to the regular one scholar, one town program slots, CHED-ARMM Chair Norma Sharief commended the 20 participating HEIs from Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur including Marawi City by awarding them one scholarship slot each.

In his extemporaneous speech in vernacular, Adiong Adiong urged the participating students to harness their sports and academic prowess to be able to achieve brighter prospects.

Adiong cited the current emergence of Filipino sportsmen Like Manny Pacquiao in the global scene should stimulate the in-school youth to strive hard.

“Your successes in sports and academic endeavours would mean the success of our region at least,” Adiong said.

The four-day affair here covered sports games, cultural and academic events.

The games category covered badminton, chess, table teniis, karatedo, lawn tennis, swimming, taekwondo for individuals, and basket, baseball, football, softball, sepak takraw and volleyball for teams.

The cultural category includes awit saya, tipa at tugtugan (solo instrument), lihawit (song-writing), ginoo at binibining Pamantasan (pageant) for individuals; awit-saya for duet, sayawitan (sing and dance choir) sayaw Pinoy (Filipino creative folk-ethnic dance) for groups.

Winners in this regional competition will represent the ARMM to the national level, which will be held in Pasig , Metro Manila on February 23-29 with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as officiating guest of honor, Sharief said.

The academic category covers impromptu speech, oration, poetry interpretation, story-telling, science quiz, math quiz and computer quiz for individuals, and debate for groups.

Sharief said the CHED-ARMM was one week late in holding the four-day affair due to the delay in the release of funding support from Manila spawned by operational kinks in her agency’s recent leadership turnovers.

As a result of the regional operation’s hitches, HEIs in the island provinces of Sulu, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi did not make it to send delegates to the competitions here, said Sharief, who hoped for a wider participation in the second phase of the activity next year. (Ali G. Macabalang)

Maguindanao governorship still vacant – ARMM officials

2010-02-07T22:37:00.000-08:00

February 2, 2010

(Ref.: Ali G. Macabalang, BPI-ARMM)

COTABATO CITY – Officials of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) yesterday doused cold water on the debates over reports that acting OIC-Governor Nariman Ambolodto of Maguindanao might be replaced by a new appointee in the provincial leadership.

The issue at hand is not a matter of replacing Amboldto but to fill up a vacancy in the office of the Maguindanao governor, which is still vacant, ARMM officials clarified yesterday.

Civil society representatives had aired dismay after Local Government Undersecretary Marius Corpus announced in Metro Manila on Jan. 28 that the ARMM leadership has created a search committee for at least 27 aspirants to the vacant position for Maguindanao governor.

Corpus purportedly described the search “as part of overall efforts by the government to normalize operations in the said province” following the fateful massacre of 57 people including at least 31 journalists that resulted to the imposition of a short-lived martial law and the suspension cum detention of some officials including Maguindanao top leaders.

A day after the national government installed him into office last Dec. 14 as acting regional governor, Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong had appointed Engr. Nasser Sinarimbo and Amboldto, an incumbent board member, as OIC- governor and OIC-vice governor, respectively to fill the top Maguindanao leadership vacancies.

But Engr. Sinarimbo refused to assume office to pursue his career service in the ARMM bureaucracy, prompting Local Governments Secretary Ronaldo Puno to install Ambolodto as OIC-vice governor on concurrent capacity as acting OIC-governor on Dec. 15.

Civil society groups including women’s sector and Church-backed NGOs have since shown satisfaction with the Ambolodto transitional governance.

But some interested resident leaders of Maguindanao have invoked to higher authorities and legal luminaries that the position of OIC-governor in Maguindanao is still vacant.

Hence, at least 27 of them have aspired for the slot, prompting acting ARMM Governor Adiong to create the search committee chaired by regional DILG Secretary Haroun Al-Rashid Lucman Jr. to screen them.

“Everyone is encouraged to apply or submit application (for the position),” said Adiong, who anchors his administration on the operating principles of transparent, consultative and moral governance.

ARMM Executive Secretary Naguib Sinarimbo, a lawyer, said Ambolodto “may apply and be considered” in the screening process.

The issue at hand is not a matter of replacing Amboldto but to fill up a vacancy in the office of the Maguindanao governor, Sinarimbo said. (AGM/bpi-ARMM)

AusAID likely to extend education program in ARMM with US$33-M fund

2010-02-07T22:30:00.001-08:00

February 1, 2010

COTABATO CITY – The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) is likely to extend up to ten years its bankrolled Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao (BEAM), this time focusing only to the depressed communities of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) with a total fund of US$33-million.

This was announced Monday by ARMM Executive Secretary Naguib Sinarimbo during the oath-taking rites here of lawyer Hamid Barra, who was earlier appointed by acting Regional Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong as regional secretary of the Department of Education (DepEd).

“He (Barra) will be playing a main role in the extended BEAM projects,” Sinarimbo told reporters covering the oath-taking ceremony he administered.

Adiong and Mitra enthusiastically discussed the extension of BEAM program in ARMM alone in five to ten years after they signed last January 27 at the Australian Embassy in Manila a memorandum of agreement providing for a US$5-million AusAID fund for the first year of the extended deal, Sinarimbo earlier said in a live radio interview here.

“The additional good news is that they (Adiong and Mitra) agreed in principle on a new system through which the program will be extended from five to ten years…with a total funding package of US$33-million for the ARMM alone,” he said in Pilipino.

Sinarimbo said the extended BEAM program seeks to intensify the AusAID intervention in addressing the sad statistics in ARMM on high dropouts, elementary undergraduates, classrooms shortage, and inappropriate teachers’ instructional skills.

He said the proposed education program extension covers only the elementary level. For high schools that are equally needing improvements, the ARMM government will have to conduct study and present proposals to prospect sponsors, he added. (bpi-armm)

New ARMM DepEd Secretary

2010-01-31T21:57:00.000-08:00

New ARMM DepEd Secretary. ARMM Acting Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong's new Department of Education secretary Dr. Hamid Barra (right) takes his oath of office before Executive Secretary Atty. Naguib G. Sinarimbo (left) on February 1, 2010 at the Office of the Regional Governor, ARMM, Cotabato City. Sown witnessing the ceremony are Atty. Udtog Tago (2nd from right) and Judge Abuali Cali (2nd from left). Barra, a lawyer also, was elected president of the National Ulama Council of the Philippines at the 3rd national summit of Islamic scholars in Davao City on Jan. 28. (Omar Mangorsi/BPI-ARMM)

2010-01-31T21:56:00.000-08:00

January 30, 2010

AMPATUAN, Maguindanao – Almost 250 pupils from Kamasi Elementary school here and their parents availed of free medical checks ups, dental services and free medicines and nutrient foods in a joint outreach program launched by five agencies of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) recently.

The pupils were also taught on the proper ways of brushing teeth and washing hands by field experts from the health and nutrition division of the Department of Education (DepEd). On the process, they were given free toothpastes and toothbrushes, according to ARMM Deputy Executive Secretary Abdullah Kusain.

Dozens officials and workers from the ARMM’s DepEd, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, Department of Health, Department of Social Welfare and Development, and Technical, Educational and Skills Authority launched the inter-agency activity here last January 28 on order of acting Regional Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong, Kusain said.

Petronila Lim, school nurse from Datu Piang said free medicines for cough, fever, pain relievers, diarrhea, antibiotics and hypertension were readied for distribution on Monday for the pupils’ parents, especially those affected or displaced by the August 2008 atrocities between military and rebel forces, and the Nov. 23, 2009 massacre and its resultant martial law imposition.

In his brief message read for him by Kusain, Adiong said his administration is “committed to bring about needed reforms and deliver basic services for the people through series of medical and dental missions to host communities and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).”

The mission delivered a complete health package to the host school here. It will cover next week the municipalities of Shariff Aguak, Datu Unsay and Datu Abdullah Sangki.

Kusain said the series of mission would last until March to provide resident pupils and teachers ample psychological and medical attentions from experts.

Aside from the health package, the mission also provides vegetable seeds, skills training for parents of pupils in the conflict affected areas of the four towns.

A water system and two-storey classroom with chairs and tables and restrooms with rain water collector is set for construction by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the ARMM Social Fund Project (ASFP) at the National High School in Shariff Aguak town.

Reports from DSWD-ARMM, as of January 19, 2009, said there are 20,343 families still living in 80 evacuation centers in Maguindanao while 23,104 other families have already returned to their respective places of origin during the month of December 2009.

Director Taya Aplal, DepEd-ARMM focal person to the Technical Management Group, Regional Disaster Coordinating Council (RDCC), said teachers and pupils in the conflict-affected towns would receive psychosocial stress debriefing.

She said a facilitators training on Psychosocial Intervention on Critical Incidence Debriefing for teachers, non-teaching and school health personnel is underway until May with support from DepEd National Office and UNICEF.

The inter-agency mission is also supported by the Armed Forces of the Philippines – 6ID and ASFP. (johenry/cbpi-armm)

Port operation Linis

2010-01-31T21:17:00.001-08:00

Port operation Linis. Polloc Port Manager Muharim Mohammad,(2nd from Left) ARMM Deputy Executive Secretary Abdullah Cusain (left), Nituan, Parang, Maguindanao Barangay Chairman Sukarni Salazar (right), representing Parang Mayor Talib Abo, and Polloc Barangay Chairman Oting Esmail (2nd from right)lead the operation linis last January 30 in pursuit of their concerted efforts to operationalize fully the regional port under the administration of acting ARMM Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong. The day-long ground cleaning activity was participated in also by personnel from the local Maritime office, Philippine Navy, the Parang municipal government and the Taskgroup Polloc. (Omar Mangorsi / bpi-armm)

AusAID grants $5-M fund for ARMM’s education projects

2010-01-31T21:16:00.000-08:00

January 29, 2010

COTABATO CITY - The Australian government has granted $5-million more fund for education projects and programs in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in what acting ARMM Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong described as a boost to concerted efforts of improving the quality of education and other related gray areas in the region.

Titon Mitra, Minister-Counselor for Development Cooperation of the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), and Adiong signed on Jan. 27 of an agreement providing for the grant of the $5-million grant this year to the ARMM regional government, Regional Executive Secretary Naguib Sinarimbo said.

The signing rites were held at the Australian Embassy in Manila and witnessed by other AusAID top officials including Peter Bartu, adviser on peace and conflict development cooperation. Sec. Sinarimbo was also a witness to the ceremonies, he said.

The grant will be used in the extension of another year in the implementation of the program on Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao (BEAM), including the crafting of the new program on education in the ARMM. The BEAM program in the region ended last year.

Meanwhile, Sinarimbo also bared that apart from the good news from the AusAID, the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) board has approved the request of the ARMM Social Fund Program (ASFP) for a fresh US$30-million loan for various infrastructure facilities and good governance-building programs in the autonomous region.

Sinarimbo said acting ARMM Governor Adiong was informed of the NEDA board’s favorable decision shortly after the signing rites on the AusAID fund grant.

In an earlier interview, ASFP Project Manager Engr. Nasser Sinarimbo said the new Word Bank fund will be used in the region’s 596 barangays that do not have ASFP projects before.

Sinarimbo said the World Bank and ARMM will set the criteria and the guidelines for selection and identification of projects identified by the stakeholders of these barangays.

ASFP started in the ARMM in 2005 and has been extended twice upon request of recipient local government units in the region. ARMM covers Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi provinces and the cities of Marawi and Lamitan. (Jo Henry/bpi-armm)

ARMM cooperatives improvement forum

2010-01-26T19:33:00.001-08:00

ARMM cooperatives improvement forum. Mahendra Madjilon, cooperative development authority administrator of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, (inset photo left) delivers the opening remarks as his district workers from the five component provinces listen at the recent three-day training on cooperative re-registration in ARMM in Cotabato City recently. The affairs was graced by Marites Hwang (center) of the CDA central office and ARMM Bureau of Public Information executive director Ali G. Macabalang, (right) who addressed the opening rites as guest speaker on behalf of ARMM Chief of Staff Avecina V. Alonto. (omar mangorsi/bpi-armm)

ARMM’s campus journalism

2010-01-26T19:29:00.000-08:00

ARMM’s campus journalism. A lady lecturer on editorial writing teaches selected group of students engaged in campus journalism from schools in relatively peaceful areas in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao at a recent regional training held in Cotabato City by the ARMM’s Department of Education (DepEd). Meanwhile, DepEd central office representatives are due to arrive in Maguindanao on Jan. 28 to conduct psychological orientation on teachers and pupils believed to have been traumatized after the Nov. 23, 2009 massacre of 58 people including 31 journalists and its resultant martial law imposition. Acting ARMM Governor Hookie Alonto-Adiong has ordered the distribution of relief goods by social welfare workers and the conduct of medical mission by physicians for affected pupils in conjunction with the psychological interventions program. (Omar Mangorsi / bpi-armm)

100 midwives deployed in Tawi-Tawi

2010-01-26T19:26:00.000-08:00

(Ref: Ali G. Macabalang, BPI-ARMM, Jan. 27, 2010)

COTABATO CITY – The provincial government of Tawi-Tawi has launched an outreach program dubbed as “Project 100 RUBIES” deploying 100 midwives across the province including dozens of villages in islets where lack of health workers has been causing enormous deaths.

RUBIES is an acronym for reaching underserved barangays through initiative for enhancement of services, a derivative from the name of Tawi-Tawi Vice Governor Ruby Sahali-Tan, who earlier conceived and launched the program grand ceremonies attended by dignitaries here last January 23.

Starting from the launching day, Sahali-Tan said, the provincial government will embark on “mass hiring of 100 midwives to be deployed in the most critical and underserved barangays” in the 11 towns, mostly in islands, of Tawi-Tawi.

Tawi-Tawi is one of five component provinces of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) which, according to government statistics, profusely lag behind in rural health and medical services.

“Our provincial government is cognizant of the need for a more aggressive approach to address the poor state of maternal and child health services in the province,” the lady vice governor said.

The health department function have been devolved to the ARMM government, but “the provincial government is …also accountable for the health of its constituents and has the mandate to support the regional government and the provincial health office in (their) undertakings to improve the health outcomes in the Region,” she said.

The deployment of 100 midwives is aimed at “reducing mortalities in Tawi-Tawi by halves from 20 to 10 maternal deaths and 159 to 100 infant deaths by the end of 2010,” Sahali-Tan pointed out.

“Tragically, the death of a mother is heartbreaking. It has many consequences, not least of which is the reduced probability of survival of her children and her newborn child is most likely to die too. A mother’s life is so precious and for each baby being born is a gift from God for a family to show affection, love and care,” she stressed.

Citing statistics, she said the ARMM has a maternal mortality rate (MMR) of 320 per 100,000 live-births or nearly double the risk of women elsewhere in the country (172 per 100,000 live-births).

In the entire ARMM, only 42% of the women who died of maternal causes received medical attendance (NSO 2004). The Maternal Mortality Ratio reflects the women’s basic health status, access to health care and the quality of health care in the rural areas, statistics showed.

Meanwhile, Sahali-Tan alongside Sulu Governor Sakur Tan expressed enthusiasm in operating principles of “transparent, consultative and moral governance” of the new ARMM leadership under acting Regional Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong. (AGM/bpi-armm)

2010-01-26T19:22:00.000-08:00

ARMM strategic planning. Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao acting Governor Hookie Alonto-Adiong (right standing) huddles with ARMM treasury officials at the recent five-day strategic planning in Cagayan de Oro City for their two-year development plan, 2010-2011. He shifted from one to another in what was perceived to be his way of getting cordial rapport with his subbordinates. Shown standing is Chief Regional Planner Adel Dumagay and (seated) ARMM Regional Treasurer Kanggo Umal and Assistant Treasurer Kasan Panawidan. The convergence was also attended by the five provincial governors and two city mayors of ARMM, who belong to the ARMM planning board, which approved the strategies and fund allocations discussed in the planning sessions. (Ali G. Macabalang)

ARMM dev’t direction refreshed

2010-01-26T19:18:00.000-08:00

-January 21, 2010

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – Line departments and offices of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao ended here yesterday (Thursday) their three-day strategic planning workshop, drafting a two-year development package aimed at bringing the impoverished ARMM communities to greater heights.

Some 70 heads and technical personnel of the ARMM’s agencies and offices threshed out problems besetting the region and proposed the corresponding solutions in three successive days of deliberations attended personally by acting Regional Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong.

The two-year development plan, which has been collated from the proposals of participating departments and bureaus, will be tackled further for adoption by the Regional Economic and Development Planning Board (REDPB), the ARMM’s highest policy-making body chaired by Adiong.

The REDPB, which opens today (Friday) their two-day meeting at the same venue here, is composed of the governors of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, the mayors of Marawi and Lamitan cities and the tops officials of the ARMM regional legislative assembly (RLA).

At the opening of the preceding workshop Tuesday, Adiong addressed the participants, citing among others funding supports from national and foreign sources now in the pipeline that include a $30-million package earmarked by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the World Bank (WB).

In his brief speech, Adiong said the national and foreign-funded development projects will be proportionately spread across the ARMM component areas to meet the social, economic, infrastructure and peace and order concerns of the target areas.

“Let us pursue our development thrusts and address squarely the grey areas under the principle of transparent, consultative and moral governance,” said Adiong, who sat and exchanged ideas with the participants in their respective tables in an unprecedented fashion for an ARMM chief executive.

Malacanang through Interior and Local Governments Secretary Ronaldo Puno installed to office Adiong last December 14 in lieu of ARMM Governor Zaldy Ampatuan, who has been suspended and detained in connection with the Nov. 23 massacre in Maguindanao of 57 people including 31 journalists.

Over the weekend, Sulu Governor Sakur Tan and Tawi-Tawi vice Governor Ruby Sahali-Tan expressed their cooperation with the new ARMM leadership, saying they were optimistic that Adiong would be able to “achieve reforms in the regional bureaucracy and deliver better services to the populace.” (AGM / BPI-ARMM)

2010-01-19T17:44:00.000-08:00

ARMM Acting Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong's new health secretary and Assistant Deputy Executive Secretary, Dr. Kadil Sinolinding Jr. (right) and Abdullah M. Cusain (middle) respectively took their Oath of Office before Executive Secretary Atty. Naguib G. Sinarimbo (left) on January 16, 2010 at the Office of the Regional Governor, ARMM, Cotabato City. (Omar Mangorsi/BPI-ARMM)

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) acting Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong has inaugurated two (2) office buildings that would house the ARM

2010-01-17T21:47:00.001-08:00

January 17, 2010
COTABATO CITY – Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) acting Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong has inaugurated two (2) office buildings that would house the ARMM’s Human Resources Information System (HRIS), and Intelligence and Security Services (ISS).

At the brief inaugural rites last Friday here, Adiong and some members of his cabinet expressed joy over the completion of the facilities that would provide the personnel of the two vital offices more comfortable environment and enable them to deliver better services.

The new buildings were constructed during the reign of detained ARMM Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan but completed after the recent office assumption of Adiong, according to Engr. Titingalangit Sumagayan, new public works and highways regional secretary.

The construction of the two buildings inside the ARMM compound here cost the regional government P1-million each as a counterpart to its memorandum of agreement with the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Under the agreement signed on March 5, 2008 by JICA representative Norio Matsuda and Ampatuan, the Japanese agency funded the series of capability-building trainings of HRIS and ISS personnel to upgrade their operations.

ARMM and JICA officials have started carrying out joint projects since Dec. 2004, the first episode of which had sent 440 ARMM senior executives and middle management officials for professional training at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) in Makati City to improve their capabilities.

For the HRIS, JICA provided 20 computer sets and trained its operators on database management.

ARMM Attorney-General Baratucal Caudang said the continued assistance of JICA has provided improvements in the regional government’s infrastructural and manpower development. (johenry/BPI-ARMM)

Rehabilitation of Polloc Port

2010-01-17T21:09:00.000-08:00

Rehabilitation of Polloc Port . Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Acting Regional Governor Ansaruddin Alonto Adiong (2nd from right) together with Polloc Port Manager Mr. Muharim Mohammad (left), Parang Municipal Mayor Talib Abo (2nd from left) and ASFP Project Manager Nasser Sinarimbo (at the back) riding in one vehicle during the inauguration of the improved Polloc Port amounting of P 22,895,184.06 million. (Omar Mangorsi/BPI-ARMM)

Modernized ARMM port

2010-01-17T21:05:00.000-08:00

Modernized ARMM port. Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Social Fund Project (ASFP) Manager Engr. Nasser Sinarimbo briefs ARMM acting Governor Ansaruddin Alonto Adiong (2nd from left) on the potentials of Polloc Port in Parang, Maguindanao, whose newly rehabilitated access road network has been turned over to the port management on January 14. The Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) funded the rehabilitation through the ASFP with P22.8 million. Polloc Port has 123,353-hectare land area sufficient for transformation into an international seaport. Also shown in the picture are Maguindanao OIC-Governor Bai Nariman Ambolodto (3rd from left partly hidden), Parang, Maguindanao Mayor Talib Abo(3rd from right) and JICA representative Tito Oria (right). (Omar Mangorsi/bpi-ARMM)

ARMM regional wharf gets modernized access road

2010-01-17T21:00:00.003-08:00

PARANG, Maguindanao – A foreign-assisted access road was inaugurated and turned over to the Polloc Port management here in what officials touted as an added push to campaign for heightened business activities in the 20-year old Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Acting ARMM Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong led on Thursday here the turnover rites between Polloc Port Manager Moharim Mohammad and Engr. Nasser Sinarimbo, ARMM Social Fund Project (ASFP) manager.

The access road, involving 6,000-meter length at eight-meter wide stretch and built-in with rubber fenders on the coast side, has been rehabilitated and fully paved with a cost of P22.8-million. The fund was provided by the International Cooperation Agency (JICA) through the ASFP, records showed.

In his brief speech at the ceremonies, Adiong said the opening of the access road would “signal the start of the ARMM government’s vision” to operate fully the Polloc Port as a regional hub of marine transport activities.

“Rehabilitation and Improvements of ports in ARMM is one of the Autonomous Regional Government's priority projects,” Adiong added.

The turnover rites were also attended by local and regional officials including Pagras Biruar, who was installed as general manager of the Regional Ports Management Authority (RPMA) a day before the occasion.

Port Manager Mohammad said the concreting and rehabilitation of wharf road network would ensure smooth, efficient and effective movement and delivery of port services at the Polloc Port.

Polloc Port has a total land area of 123.0353 hectares which is potential to be transformed into an international seaport, a reason the ASFP sought the fund support from the JICA through its Strategic Regional Infrastructure (SRI), fund project manager Sinarimbo said.

Sinarimbo said that efficient sea ports operations are imperative in the socio-economic uplift of the autonomous region.

ASFP has been implementing vital projects in ARMM that include education, health, infrastructure and other socio-economic concerns, he said.

Also present during the inaugural rites were JICA officials headed by JICA representative Tito Oria, JICA head of consultants Domingo Guarinio and Maguindanao OIC governor Nariman Ambolodto. (bpi-ARMM)

ARMM regional wharf gets modernized access road

2010-01-17T21:00:00.002-08:00

ARMM regional wharf gets modernized access road

2010-01-17T21:00:00.000-08:00

Rehabilitation of Tamparan District Hospital Training Center

2010-01-17T20:57:00.000-08:00

Rehabilitation of Tamparan District Hospital Training Center. (Inset photo) Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Acting Regional Governor Ansarrudin Alonto Adiong (center) leads the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the opening of the rehabilitated Tamparan District Hospital on January 14, 2010. Japan International Cooperative Agency (JICA) through the ARMM Social Fund Project (ASFP) funded the hospital rehabilitation which included a training center amounting up to P5.7 Million. ASFP was represented by Project Manager Nasser Sinarimbo (2nd from right). Assisting the acting governor (left to right) are Chief of Tamparan District Hospital Dr. Potri Disomimba-Ali, JICA Expert Mr. Tito T. Oria, Sr. and DPWH-ARMM Assistant Secretary Nasrodin D. Macabinta. (Omar Mangorsi/BPI-ARMM)

Lanao Sur district hospital inaugurated

2010-01-17T20:45:00.000-08:00

January 15, 2010

TAMPARAN, Lanao del Sur – Residents here have gained access to better health and recreational facilities following the inauguration Thursday of the newly renovated district hospital and a training center in this agricultural town.

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) acting Regional Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong led the inauguration of the improved Tamparan District Hospital in ceremonies attended by his elder brother, Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal A. Adiong Jr. alongside all mayors in the province.

In his brief speech, Adiong aired his administration’s commitment to advance health initiatives to help make the region’s over four million residents mentally and physically healthy.

The ARMM chief executive assured to support the refurbished district hospital by providing other necessary medical equipment and an amount of P3,000 to each personnel for a new set of uniform. The hospital also received 22 boxes of assorted medicines personally delivered by him.

Adiong said his one month-old administration will strive to let his constituents “feel the services of the government.”

The rehabilitation of the Tamparan District Hospital Training Center has been funded with P5.7-million by the ARMM Social Fund Program (ASFP) through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Dra. Potri Disomimba-Ali, chief administrator of the hospital, lauded Adiong for pushing for the improvement of the medical facility after seeing it in a poor condition during a free cataract operation he sponsored few months ago.

“The realization of this project has been through the efforts made by Governor Adiong,” Ali said.

The two-storey, 10 x 30 square meter training center, Ali said, will provide quality medical and health services to the locals and will serve as “ideal venue for our integrated health programs such as future medical missions.”

Engr. Nasser G. Sinarimbo, ASFP Project Manager, said the project formed part of the commitment of the Autonomous Regional Government (ARG) to provide constituents access to decent health service.

Tito Oria Sr, a JICA expert, urged hospital administrators to take care of the facility, even as he expressed optimism for its long sustained operations.

He promised to continue supporting projects on the pipeline intended for the development of stakeholders and communities in the region.

Tamparan District Hospital was created thru Republic Act passed in Congress in 1963 thru the efforts of then Mayor Datu Palawan Disomimba under President Diosdado Macapagal. In 1987, the hospital was upgraded to serve all its ten neighboring municipalities in the province.

The province now has five district hospitals and the Amai Pakpak Provincial hospital in Marawi City .

US-funded road opening

2010-01-12T18:13:00.001-08:00

US-funded road opening. (Inset photo) Barira, Maguindanao Mayor Alexander D. Tomawis (3rd from left) leads the ribbon-cutting ceremony on the North-West road project that includes the spillway stretch across Ambal river inside the former Camp Abubakar of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front on January 8. The road stretch has been funded with some P8-million by the US Government through the US Army. It consists of a 750-meter concrete span on the west of Nabalawag and 3.5- kilometer stretch on the east including spillway road. Shown assisting the mayor at the ceremonial turnover rite are US Army representative Captain You (right), 37th Infantry Battalion Commander, Lt. Col. Gavin Edjawan (2nd from right) and Nabalawag Barangay Chairman Datu Gani Dimasangkay (left). (Omar Mangorsi/BPI-ARMM)

AFP builds road in former MILF stronghold

2010-01-12T17:56:00.000-08:00

January 12, 2010

The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) with the help of the U.S. forces has built a road right at the heartland of a former stronghold of the separatist rebel group Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in Barira, Maguindanao.

The project consisting of the 750 meters Nabalawag West Road and the 3.5 kilometers Nabalawag East Road including a spillway in the Ambal River all in Barangay Nabalawag cost around P8 million. It was officially handed over Friday to the management of the local government of Barira after being completed.

The funds were provided by the United States ’ government thru the U.S. Army.

“This is the biggest project we have undertaken so far in this area,” said Lt. Col. Gavin Edjawan, Commander of the 37th Infantry Battalion of the Philippine Army.

Nabalawag including most parts of Barira and its neighboring municipalities were under the control of the MILF up until 2000 when the government launched an all-out war against the rebel group. The Nabalawag road project is just few kilometers from the hub of Camp Abubakar – the largest of the MILF camps during its reign in the area.

Mayor Alexander Tomawis of Barira is the man who pushed for the project. Most parts of the municipality have remained inaccessible to vehicles for the longest time.

He said it is an indication that the place is moving towards progress. It would be easier now for farmers to move their harvest, he said.

Tomawis said they will try to secure more help to support the extension of the road and the construction of other development projects.

The road project gives locals here a glimmer of a brighter tomorrow. They dub it the ‘peace road’ – a welcome development from their war torn past. (Rav Bahri / BPI-ARMM)

New police cars for ARMM

2010-01-12T17:50:00.000-08:00

New police cars for ARMM. Regional Executive Secretary Naguid Sinarimbo(3rd from left) turns over to DILG-ARMM Secretary Haroun Al-Rashid Lucman (2nd from right) the keys of 11 new police car (some of them shown in the background) during a simple rite in front of the ORG Executive Building in Cotabato City on January 5. Also shown in the photo are unnamed officials earlier tasked by DILG Secretary Ronaldo Puno to accompany the shipment of the vehicles to the Office of Acting Regional Governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong. (Omar Mangorsi / BPI-ARMM)

ARMM receives 11 police cars

2010-01-12T17:41:00.000-08:00

07 January 2010

Eleven (11) police cars were turned over Tuesday by the national office of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to its regional counterpart in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in support to the peace and order campaign of the newly installed administration of acting ARMM Governor Ansaruddin Adiong.

The police cars are to be distributed to pre-identified police stations across the region.

According to DILG-ARMM Sec. Haroun Al-Rashid Lucman, ARMM is set to receive more vehicles for its police force and fire department. He said they are awaiting the arrival of luxury police cars to provide V.I.P. services and a number of firetrucks.
ARMM Executive Sec. Naguib Sinarimbo said the donation complements the security preparation of the regional police force this election period and an added help to the overall maintenance of peace and order in the region.

Sinarimbo said the DILG central office is also sending in few weeks time another fleet of police cars (Toyota Innova) and fire trucks for distribution to the five provinces of the ARMM.

Several areas in the ARMM have been consistently identified by the Commission on Election (Comelec) as election hotspots. The region is infamous for election-related violence and for allegedly being the country’s cheating capital during elections. The massacre in Maguindanao, which left at least 57 people dead including more than 30 mediamen, is said to be the worst election-related violence in the country.

This has prompted the Comelec and other political figures to push for the early conduct of voting in the ARMM, ahead of the scheduled May 2010 polls, to avoid further violence and ensure a clean election.

The five provincial governors of the ARMM had earlier aired their support to the proposed early polls. (bpi-armm)

ARMM 20th Foundation Anniversary

2009-11-17T23:39:00.000-08:00

ARMM Executive Secretary Oscar Sampulna lead ARMM Officials (inset) in lighting the torch signaling the start of the 5-day celebration of the 20th Foundation Anniversary of ARMM which will culminate on NOvember 19, 2009. ARMM employees participate in the opening ceremony of the inter-agency sports festival as part of the anniversary celebration inside the ARMM Regional Complex, Cotabato City.

ARMM celebrates 20th anniversary

2009-11-17T23:36:00.000-08:00

COTABATO CITY – The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) kicks off today the five-day celebration of its 20th founding anniversary spearheaded by the Office of the Regional Governor, Regional Sports Coordinating Office (RSCO-ARMM) and Bureau on Cultural Heritage (BCH-ARMM) held here.

ARMM was first created on August 1, 1989 through Republic Act No. 6734, also known as “Organic Act for the ARMM” in pursuance with a constitutional mandate to provide for an autonomous area in Muslim Mindanao. Of the areas where the plebiscites were held, only Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi voted favorably for inclusion in the new autonomous region. The region was officially inaugurated on November 6, 1990 here, which was designated as its provisional capital.

In 2001, a new law, Republic Act No. 9054, was passed for the expansion of the ARMM to include the areas which initially rejected inclusion and the provinces which were carved from them. Only Marawi City and Basilan with the exception of Isabela City opted to be integrated in the region.

Themed “Tulay ng Kapayapaan – Pagkakaisa at Kaunlaran Tungo sa Larangan ng Palakasan, Yamang Kultura ng ating Rehiyon, Pangalagaan, Linangin at Ipagmalaki,” various sports activities and cultural shows are lined up aimed to strengthen the mind and body skills beneficial for the effective public service of officials and employees of the ARMM. Sports activities include basketball, volleyball, table tennis, dart, bowling, lawn tennis, chess and scrabble.

RSCO officer-in-charge Ibrahim Biruar Jr. stressed, “Let us extend our heartfelt thanks to the unrelenting support of Regional Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan who calls for the celebration of ARMM and the entire Bangsamoro people.”

In his recent State of the Region Address (SORA), Governor Ampatuan is optimistic that the Autonomous Regional Government will continue to live up to the interest of the Bangsamoro people and will effort to cater the pressing needs of its people.
Highlight of the opening salvo are the performances of BCH-trained Angat-Kultura Class from Datu Piang, Maguindanao, Maguindanaon Band and Kalatong Musical Class which composed of Internally Displaced Peoples (IDPs).

Moreover, BCH-ARMM Executive Director Bai Badria Kamaong-Andamen emphasized the vital role of culture in the development of ARMM.

“The unique culture as well as the exceptional tradition of the people in the region made ARMM unique in its own way. Nevertheless of diverse tribes of Moro and Lumad people, unity is evident. This event will further acquaint the people and will continue to strengthen camaraderie especially in the ranks of ARMM officials and employees,” Andamen said.

Governor Ampatuan, in his message read by Executive Secretary Oscar Sampulna, while commends the support and active participation of secretaries, heads of offices and employees, vows to reinforce programs and activities that would further brace the significance of culture and sports to man’s well-being.
ARMM is presently composed of five provinces and one city namely Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Basilan and Marawi City.

DSWD-ARMM and IPHO-Maguindanao

2009-11-17T23:34:00.000-08:00

DSWD-ARMM and IPHO-Maguindanao team up to conduct a one-day outreach program to residents of Barangay DM Biruar in Bongo Island, Parang, Maguindanao last Nov. 14, 2009. (Clockwise) a. DSWD-ARMM Sec. Bai Soraida Biruar (fourth from R) assisted by Datu Ali Biruar (left) former DM Biruar Barangay Chairman, and other officials of DSWD and DOH-ARMM hands over a cash loan assistance worth P5,000 to one of the 25 beneficiaries of the Self-Employment Assistance-Kaunlaran (SEA-K); b. Sec. Biruar(center) with Tagudtungan Barangay Chairman Adnan Biruar(right) and DSWD-ARMM Maguindanao provincial Officer Ms. Elsie Amil (left) distribute assorted relief goods; c. OPERATION TULI. Boys from the barangay get free circumcision courtesy of doctors from IPHO-Maguindanao and the AFP; d. LIBRENG CHECK UP. Residents get free medical check-up and consultation.

DSWD, DOH conduct outreach programs

2009-11-17T23:32:00.001-08:00

16 November 2009

Bongo Island, Parang, Maguindanao – Various agencies of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) led by the Department of Social Welfare and Development of the (DSWD-ARMM) and the Department of Health (DOH-ARMM) have been conducting series of outreach programs here for the underprivileged people in the far-flung villages of the province.
The outreach programs include medical mission like “operation tuli” or circumcision, free medical check-up and consultation and awarding of cash loan assistance of P5,000 each for the Self-Employment Assistance – Kaunlaran program or SEA-K to twenty-five (25)individuals from Barangay Tagudtungan in the island of Bongo on Saturday, November 14, 2009.
ARMM social welfare Secretary Bai Soraida Biruar said the SEA-K is a livelihood program of DSWD in a form of loan that intends to help provide financial assistance as capital seed fund to the marginalized communities in the entire region in order for them to start a business as source of their income.
The SEA-K is part of the Comprehensive Livelihood Emergency Employment Program (CLEEP) of the national government to help mitigate hunger in the country, Biruar added.
Dra. Elizabeth Samama, the Provincial Health Officer (IPHO) of Maguindanao province who led the team of medical doctors and nurses, disclosed that about seven-hundred (700) individuals had been given medical attention and free medicines including operation tuli.
Samama said that aside from the Internally Displaced Persons in the different evacuations centers in the province, Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) Maguindanao has been engaging in various medical outreach programs to serve the poor and depressed communities especially in the remotest areas of the province.
ARMM Regional Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan stressed during his State of the Region Address (SORA) recently that basic social services such as Health, nutrition, education, infrastructure and other significant development projects are among the major program thrusts of his administration.

Matanog residents receive 4Ps conditional cash grant

2009-11-17T23:31:00.001-08:00

13 November 2009

Matanaog, Maguindanao – The Autonomous Regional Government under the initiative of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD-ARMM) has been continuously improving the interest and wellbeing of the marginalized and underprivileged constituents of the region through various economic and health programs, one of which is the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program or 4Ps

On Thursday, November 12, 2009, DSWD-ARMM spearheaded by its secretary Bai Soraida Biruar has distributed “Conditional Cash Grant” to identified beneficiaries of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program from the different barangays of Matanog town in the province of Maguindanao, along with Matanog Mayor Nasser Imam at the Matanog Municipal Gymnasium.

Sec. Biruar said that the program is a poverty reduction strategy that provides small grants to identified extremely poor families with the condition that the money will be spent for health and education of their children particularly from zero-fourteen (0-14) years of age.

Every household will receive monthly cash grants of P1,400 for five years for health services and education of maximum of three (3) children. Each child will have P300 intended for his/her education with the total amount of P900 for the 3 children while the P500 will be used for the family’s basic health service, stressed Biruar.

Mayor Imam was very grateful that Matanog has been included as one of the chosen towns in the region to benefit the 4Ps program.

“We are so thankful to the leadership of the Autonomous Regional Government under the administration of able Governor Datu Zaldy Ampatuan for the enduring support and assistance to our constituents here in Matanog”, added Imam.

He said that the whole town of Matanog has been extremely damaged and most affected during the 2000 all-out war between the government forces and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) where thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) stayed in the evacuation centers for more than one year.

Matanog has Three Thousand Eight Hundred Sixty Nine (3,869) beneficiaries, the highest number of qualified beneficiaries among the ten (10) identified target municipalities in the province of Maguindanao.

ARMM Governor Datu Zaldy Ampatuan in his 5th State of the Region Address (SORA) recently emphasized that the regional government has concentrated the efforts to respond to major development challenges and issues confronting its people and their communities and pursued high impact socio-economic development programs.

The 4Ps is a five year program of the national government which was conceived and started in 2008 in response to the global economic meltdown.

It also intends to alleviate poverty incidence that provides cash grants to extremely poor families not only in the ARMM but also in the entire country.

The national government has identified ten (10) municipalities for the Maguindanao province as target beneficiaries of the 4Ps program, sixteen (16) for Lanao del Sur; seventeen (17) for Sulu; three (3) for Tawi-Tawi and three (3) for Basilan. (bpi-armm)

Ampatuan’s program of government earns him praise from known opposition figure

2009-11-10T17:43:00.000-08:00

Cotabato City - Opposition senator and vice presidential hopeful Senator Loren Legarda lauded Monday the socio-economic programs and highlights of accomplishments presented by Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan in his 5th State of the Region Address (SORA).

Legarda, a staunch advocate of environment protection and climate change, said she was impressed by the ARMM chief’s focus on the environment, peace and order, health and education, including the settlement of the problem of teachers in the region with the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS).

ARMM’s outstanding arrears of more than P1 billion with the GSIS about six years ago has been brought down to around P300 million as of lately through the interventions of Ampatuan and support of the Office of the President. Ampatuan said negotiations are currently ongoing to “finally write-off the remaining balance.”

“Hangang-hanga ako sa kanyang mga socio-economic programs (I’m really impressed with his [Ampatuan] socio-economic programs),“ Legarda told reporters during a press conference shortly after the SORA.

The lady-senator also approved of the efforts of the regional government to address climate change and protect the environment.

Ampatuan said the region will make sustainable management and protection of the environment among its top priorities in response to the challenge of climate change and other emerging environmental threats.

Although a known critic of the administration, Legarda assured that ARMM constituents can count on her as an ally in the Senate in the fight against poverty and hunger. She said she would help the region, in her current capacity as Senator and if she ever succeeds in getting elected to higher office, get sufficient fundings to support programs and projects on education and health and sanitation.
She also vowed to help advance the Mindanao River Basin Development Plan.

Legarda was chair of the senate sub-committee which heard and approved the ARMM’s 2010 proposed budget in September of this year.

While Ampatuan is a keen supporter of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Regional Chairman of the Lakas-KAMPI-CMD, his SORA drew personalities both from the administration and the opposition bloc.

Aside from Legarda, another prominent opposition figure, Akbayan Party List Representative Risa Honiveros, also graced the 5th SORA.

In an interview with a local radio station here right after the SORA, Hontiveros praised Ampatuan’s program of government and expressed approval of the ARMM Governor’s support to the cause of women.

Both Legarda and Hontiveros, who have been openly critisizing the administration on a number of issues, are believed to be building up their chances to get elected to higher positions come 2010.

Ampatuan, however, stressed that he remains loyal to the administration and to the Lakas-KAMPI-CMD coalition.

“I will adhere to the consensus of the party and will strongly support its candidates in the upcoming 2010 elections. But any candidate, regardless of political affiliations, is free to campaign in the ARMM,” Ampatuan stressed. (bpi-armm)

Ampatuan presents economic gains and ARMM’s future direction in his 5th SORA

2009-11-09T23:23:00.000-08:00

Cotabato City - Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan vows to take ARMM to its full economic might and contribute to the country’s overall economic development in his 5th State of the Region Address (SORA) before the 6th Regional Assembly.

Ampatuan delivered his 5th SORA before the members of the Regional Assembly at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex inside the ARMM Regional Government Center here on November 9, 2009.

According to Ampatuan, ARMM’s overall economic performance remained resilient during the past years despite the uncertainties. The region registered a growth rate of 5.3% in its Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) in 2007 with the agri-fishery sector contributing a bulk to the total output.

The agri-fishery sector experienced a growth of 8.1 % and comprised 58.4% of the region’s total economic output.

Moreover, ARMM managed to attract a total of P2.4 billion in a period spanning 3 years, from 2006-2008, that generated the employment of 32,772 workers.

“Our economic strategies will continue, not just to make ARMM grow to its full potential but also to help boost the country’s overall economic growth,” Ampatuan said.

Ampatuan has also placed second among his three priority development plans the region’s target to take a lead in the “production, processing and marketing of halal products and services in the country.”

The global halal market is estimated to be around $US632 billion and Thailand, the leading exporter of certified halal products and a country which also has a Muslim minority, makes about US$6.3 billion annually from its halal industry.

ARMM is already taking steps to get a slice of the lucractive halal market. The region has come up with a Halal developmment plan, identifying mechanisms to stimulate and establish the region’s halal industry, on orders from Ampatuan.

The region is also investing heavily on the contruction and improvement key infrastructures with 227 projects amounting to P1 billion for 2009. Other infrastructure projects are also being undertaken in partnership with foreign donors such as the Sanga-Sanga airport in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi and the Jolo airport in Sulu, which are being funded by the USAID.

Ampatuan affirmed that the ARMM will continue to carry forward the interests and aspirations of the Bangsamoro people even as he called for the support of other Muslim leaders on his program of government.

He said that it his duty as Regional Governor “to protect this institution [ARMM] and to make it work better under the present set-up.”

He said the regional government will work to “strengthen the institutional structure of regional autonomy to make it more responsive to our [Bangsamoro people] needs, ideals and aspirations as Bangsamoro people.”

The 5th SORA according to him, with the number of accomplishments highlighted therein, manifests the regional government’s “resolve and dedication to continue serving the people with better services they deserve.”

Ampatuan took time in thanking the national leadership under the administration of President Gloria Pacapagal Arroyo for the support and trust the national government has been giving to the ARMM. He also underscored the role of the foreign and local donor institutions in the regional development. (bpi-armm)

Ampatuan underscores peace, education, health, and environment on his 5th SORA

2009-11-09T23:06:00.000-08:00

Cotabato City - Regional Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao once again reaffirmed his administration’s full support to the peace process and emphasized the regional government’s recommendations to the Government peace panel to help make the peace consultations succeed.

In his 5th State of the Region Address (SORA) before the members of the Regional Assembly he delivered at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex inside the ARMM Regional Center here, Amapatuan commended the renewed efforts of the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front for the early resumption of the stalled peace talks.

Ampatuan, who is the first ARMM regional governor reelected ever, has been supporting the government peace initiatives in Mindanao particularly the full implementation of the September 2, 1996 Final Peace Agreement between the Government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the immediate conclusion of the ongoing peace negotiations with the MILF.

“The recent suspension of military operations and actions on both sides was a big step to restore normalcy and there is no doubt we are now enjoying an atmosphere of peace and stability that must be sustained on the ground,” he said.

Ampatuan said that a total of 230,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) were served by the regional government and that 24,000 families have already returned to their respective places and assisted by the regional government and donor agencies with livelihood and financial support.

The regional government will continue to provide a package of early recovery and rehabilitation assistance for the remaining IDPs for their eventual return to their places of origin through the Cluster Approach Cum Early Recovery Plan drafted to provide mechanism for relief and rehab support for IDPs, according to Ampatuan.

Ampatuan’s administration is also addressing the P1 billion Government Service Insurance Service premium arrears of ARMM incurred during the previous administrations and is currently negotiating with the Department of Budget andf Management and the National Government to write-off the remaining balance of 300 million pesos.

The regional government is continuously upgrading the capacity of human resources and strengthens the implementation of the Anti-Red Tape Act to further promote the regional government’s policy for transparency and accountability and the effective delivery of public service in ARMM.

Ampatuan also underscored in his 5th SORA his administration’s efforts to enhance delivery of basic social services especially to the less fortunate, disadvantaged sectors including women and children.

He said that the Regional Basic Education Development Plan and the recently concluded ARMM Basic Education Donors’ Forum is a solid step for a focused intervention for better quality of education in ARMM.

He also announced ten thousand scholarship slots given to deserving beneficiaries and another 113 grantees for One Town One Scholar Program under Commission I Higher Education-ARMM.

He also announced that the Autonomous Regional Government had recently signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the DepED national office for the implementation of 2008-2009 school building Program.

He said as of 2008, 153 school buildings were completed and more are still under construction and another 285 additional classrooms and 507 teaching and non-teaching positions have been recently approved by DBM for DepEd-ARMM.

He also announced the distribution of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and laboratory equipment to different elementary schools to further enhance their skills and knowledge in Science and Technology.

The ARMM-wide Investment Plan for Health (AIPH) with the Department of Health National Office which includes funding and technical assistance will be a big boost to the delivery of health services in the region, according to him.

“Construction and renovation of our hospitals, health facilities, and the continuous allocation of medicines and supplies to local health stations especially in IDP-host areas are one of my priorities,” he said.

The regional governor also affirmed the region’s preparations to take on climate change and environmental concerns.

“The continuing protection and management of our watersheds, lakes, rivers, forests, and marshes for a long term requirements of the next generations is on top of our priorities,” he said.

He also announced that the Presidnetial Task Force on Mindanao River Basin which he co-chairs is now in the process of crafting the Mindanao River Basin Master Development Plan. (bpi-armm)

BEAM-AusAID bolsters Distance Learning Program for ARMM children

2009-10-21T22:41:00.000-07:00

Marawi City, LANAO DEL SUR – The regional government of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao with the support of the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) through the Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao (BEAM) has strengthened the Distance Learning Program (DLP) in the region as one of the approaches in improving poor access of children to basic education.

The DLP is one of the initiatives of the BEAM Project under its Component 3 – Increasing Access – which seek to grant opportunities for the school age children in the elementary level starting at Grade 3 to Grade 6 from far-flung and poor areas, to have access to formal basic education through the use of independent and self-paced learning modules.

In the pilot stage, two divisions in the ARMM composed of eight elementary schools were the beneficiaries since the program commenced in June of 2009. Schools-recipients under Maguindano Division are Datu Gumbay Piang Elementary School of Datu Piang, Dapiawan Elementary School of Datu Saudi Ampatuan, Kalumamis Elementary School of Guindulungan, Pandan Elementary School of South Upi, Malangit Elementary School of Mamasapano and Libutan Elementary School of Datu Saudi Ampatuan. Bobo Elementary School and Piagapo Central Elementary School of Piagapo are the beneficiaries from Lanao del Sur IB Division.

In the turn-over ceremony of BEAM Learning Modules and school supplies recently in Piagapo town here, Angelo Delgado, Project Development Officer in the Education Development Project Implementing Task Force (EDPITAF) of the Department of Education (DepEd), further stress the significance of DLP for school age children.

“The BEAM’s central objective is to address drop-out cases and absenteeism of these children in schools. These happen because these children were living in conflict-affected areas, their residences are distant from schools and some are working in the farms with their parents. Also eligible in the program are those children with physical difficulties or impairments,” Delgado said.

Delgado, as well, made clear the exclusion of Grades 1 and 2 in the DLP. He said that only children from Grade 3 to Grade 6 were recipients of the program as they were already in the “learning to read” stage of development.

“The beneficiaries are already readers because the modules are independent and interactive. Upon enrolment, the teacher conducts reading readiness assessment of students to determine their capacity to read the materials, follow instructions and complete the worksheets,” he said.

More than 500 BEAM Learning Modules is given to every school – five copies per learning area/subject (English, Math, Science, Filipino and Makabayan), per grade level (Grade 3 to Grade 6) and per grading period (1st to 4th Grading). A total of 35,000 modules were already distributed.

Acting Australian Project Director for BEAM, Ramon C. Bobier, senses a big hope in instituting a quality education for the children in the ARMM.

“We can assure our teachers, parents, as well as the children that these BEAM Learning Modules are especially designed to enhance the quality of knowledge and learning of each student. These modules are original masterworks of our own teachers from the DepEd-ARMM. We wanted to live with BEAM’s mission of bringing education closer to where it is needed and when it matters most,” Bobier said.

Moreover, ARMM Regional Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan recurrently lauds the efforts of AusAID through BEAM in helping the regional government on its quest for affordable, accessible and quality education to poor students in remote areas in the autonomous region. (BPI-ARMM*)

Newly constructed Multi-Purpose Center

2009-10-07T00:50:00.000-07:00

Newly constructed Multi-Purpose Center (Upper Left Photo), one of the 2 units of Latrines (Upper Right Photo) 2 units of Solar Drier (Lower Photo) located at Barangay Samer, in Butig town Lanao del Sur. These projects had been implemented by the ARMM Social Fund Project Management Office (ASFP) under the Community Development Assistance (CDA) component through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD-ARMM) funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). (bpi-armm)

ASFP implements various community-based projects in Butig, Lanao del Sur

2009-10-07T00:48:00.000-07:00

30 September 2009

ASFP implements various community-based projects in Butig, Lanao del Sur

Butig, Lanao del Sur - Residents of Barangay Samer in this town have had a hard time drying their farm produce and fetching water from a deep well for daily consumption not until two units of solar drier and a potable water system have been constructed by the ARMM Social Fund Project (ASFP) early this year funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

Projects also like multi-purpose center, two units of latrines and three laundry sheds had been constructed and completed in this barangay as part of the Community Development Assistance (CDA) projects being implemented by the ASFP through the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD-ARMM).

Samer People’s Organization president Hadji Alawi Amatonding expressed his gratitude to the leadership of the ARMM for pouring in such considerable and significant projects in their area. “These projects particularly the water system and the laundry sheds are of great help to us residents of this barangay especially for our women and mothers,” said Amatonding.

Amatonding organized a consultation meeting with other residents and formed the Samer Organization for Development in order to lobby for projects that would help improve their living condition.

Butig mayor Dimnatang Pansar was also grateful to the Autonomous Regional Government through ARMM Social Fund Project under the leadership of Regional Governor Datu Zaldy Ampatuan and to the officials of the JICA for supporting such projects for his constituents.

“We are very thankful that we have this multi-purpose center where our people can use for various activities, the solar driers where our farmers can easily dry up their crops, the communal toilets which are situated near the Madrasah (Arabic School) where our students can use while having classes and most of all the potable water system, added mayor Pansar”.

ARMM Social Fund Project Management Office has been implementing social and development projects primarily in the far-flung villages from the six component provinces and one city of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) under the administration of Regional Governor Datu Zaldy Ampatuan to reduce poverty incidence, improve healthcare services and boost local economy in the region through massive development programs and projects.

The Japanese government has committed a 2.47 Billion Yen worth of various development and community based projects in the region since year 2005 through soft loans by the national government and granted to ARMM to further its development and build peace in the region. (bpi-armm)

Courtesy visit

2009-10-06T01:08:00.001-07:00

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Regional Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan (seated, left) pays a courtesy visit to Senator Loren Legarda (right) and discuss with the lady senator his peace and development initiatives in the region. Legarda is the Chairman of the Senate Sub-Finance Committee which hears the 2010 ARMM Proposed Budget amounting to P9.827 Billion. (BPI-ARMM)

2009-10-06T01:05:00.001-07:00

Maguindanao 1st District Congressman Didagen Dilangalen (left) and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Regional Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan (right) seriously discussing the flooding situation in the province. Ampatuan went to the House of Representatives on September 29, 2009 and defended the 2010 ARMM Proposed Budget amounting to P9.827 Billion. (BPI-ARMM)

Courtesy Call

2009-10-06T00:41:00.000-07:00

Tawi-tawi Lone District Congressman Nur G. Jaafar (right) and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Regional Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan (left), discussing development initiatives in the region. Ampatuan paid a courtesy visit to Jaafar, Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Sub-Committee “F” on Finance and Appropriations who hears the 2010 ARMM Proposed Budget amounting to P9.827 Billion. (BPI-ARMM)

UN to assist ARMM IDPs in early recovery, livelihood programs

2009-09-09T00:44:00.000-07:00

ARMM Executive Secretary Oscar Sampulna Sr. (left) assures the United Nations that the ARMM Regional Government will work collectively with the UN system to completely rebuild the plight of IDPs brought by skirmishes and recent flooding in the region. UN officials Jacqui Badcock and Matthew Serventy (2nd and 3rd from left) paid visit at the Office of the Regional Governor on September 9 to collaborate with regional government’s strategies in ensuring IDPs security. The UN pledges to provide various assistance to the regional government especially on early recovery and livelihood issues. Also present in the meeting are TMS Director Ramil Masukat and BPI Director Samson Gogo.

COTABATO CITY – The United Nations (UN) assures the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Regional Government that it would extend various assistance to completely rebuild distressing plight of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) affected by recent sporadic skirmishes and flooding in different areas of the region, according to a UN official in her visit to the Office of the Regional Governor on September 08.

Jacqui Badcock, UN Resident Coordinator, consulted several representatives of ARMM line agencies particularly Regional Disaster Coordinating Committee (RDCC), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Office of Civil Defense (OCD) and Technical Management Services (TMS) to comprehend ARMM Regional Government’s strategy in ensuring IDPs security.

She also wanted to grasp how the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) implement the Suspension of Military Operations (SOMO) and Suspension of Military Actions (SOMA), respectively, but reiterated, “we are willing to assist you in any ways.”

Ramil Masukat, TMS Director, said that the ARMM Regional Government had already submitted its early recovery and rehabilitation plans to DSWD Central Office and now awaiting response.

“There’s no guarantee if there will never be skirmishes again in their communities. That is why, we worry the situation of IDPs here particularly in the province of Maguindanao,” Masukat said.

Masukat disclosed that “while waiting for DSWD’s reply,” the Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) will be meeting the Peace and Development Officers (MPDOs) of different municipalities in Maguindanao to design urgent programs for IDPs plight.

A two-day Strategic Planning session with UN and social welfare officers (MSWDOs) of different municipalities in Maguindanao was also proposed.

Further, Humanitarian Affairs Officer Matthew Serventy of UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) suggested strengthening the cluster system approach of the regional government to ensure consolidation of data, actions taken and other plans of different ARMM line agencies.

He also proposed that “if cluster trainings will be pushed through,” ARMM regional government may focus on two settings -- armed conflict and disaster response -- “from regional level down to provincial [level] to immediately take actions if clashes and flooding will occur.”

In the end, Badcock reassures that the United Nations is keen in assisting the ARMM Regional Government and that it would provide technical assistance “especially on early recovery and livelihood issues.”

Lawyer Oscar Sampulna Sr., ARMM Executive Secretary, in response, said that the ARMM Regional Government promises to collectively work with the UN system and that consolidated data from ARMM line agencies are organized for review and reference.

ARMM Regional Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan, also the chair of RDCC, directed beforehand all ARMM line agencies to utilize resources and exhaust means to warrant the protection of IDPs in evacuation centers as well as victims of flooding that recently plagued the region. (BPI-ARMM*)

IDPs in Northern Kabuntalan receive help in rebuilding community

2009-09-07T22:36:00.001-07:00

Cotabato City - The Government of the Philippines - United Nations (GoP-UN) ACT for Peace Programme, through its Strengthening Response to Internal Displacement (StRIDe) Mindanao Project, turned-over last week package of assistance to residents of Barangay Damatog in Northern Kabuntalan, Maguindanao who have been displaced by the latest military conflict and flooding in the area.

The assistance includes the construction of 40 core shelters amounting to P2 Million, a barangay health station, the establishment of a Botika ng Barangay and some livelihood support.

The residents will do the construction work themselves under a ‘food for work’ scheme which also serves as counterpart of the local government of Northern Kabuntalan.

Around 120 displaced families were provided with tools such as fish nets, farm implements and sewing machines as well as chicks for poultry production to help start over their livelihood. Beneficiaries were also given hygiene kits.
The assistance is intended to help residents rebuild their lives with multi-stakeholder’s support.

Mayor Ramil Dilangalen said residents of Damatog suffered heavy losses from the sporadic clashes and severe flood. “We are happy and grateful to receive this package of assistance from StRIDe Mindanao Project. It goes a long way in helping these residents get back to their normal life,” he said.

Funded by the European Commission, StRIDe Mindanao Project is supporting the rehabilitation of a total of 30 conflict-affected communities in Mindanao, 6 of which, including Barangay Damatog, are in Maguindanao.

The project aims to contribute to the “establishment of a durable solution to internal displacement by improving delivery of assistance to victims of armed conflicts, promoting IDP rights and strengthening response to prevent displacement.”

Among those who graced the turnover ceremony was Camille Hagstrom, Deputy Director for Operations of the European Commission, who was delighted to see the projects and all the stakeholders. Barangay Damatog, she said, would be “a very good example that IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) can start to rebuild.”

She said the ongoing rehabilitation in Damatog “proves that this is feasible”.

After only being displaced for 3 months, most residents of Damatog were the first among those in the 11 barangays affected by conflict in Northern Kabuntalan to start returning home.

All stakeholders have upheld a ‘covenant for the safe return of IDPs’ among the officials of the 11 barangays, municipal officials, military and IDP leaders that was forged in May this year after a series of dialogues. (bpi-armm)

BEAM awards P19M-grant to ARMM public schools

2009-09-03T01:15:00.000-07:00

Heads of School Governing Councils in the province of Maguindanao headed by DepEd-Maguindanao Division Superintendent Meriam Kawit (third from right) received on September 3, this year, the P3M-school grant [parcel of the P19M-grant] from AusAID through BEAM that would help reinforce the School-Based Management program being implemented in public schools in ARMM. Three hundred eighty (380) public schools from 11 school divisions around the region have benefited the grant. Leading the awarding ceremony were AusAID Acting Project Director Ramon C. Bobier (second from right) and AusAID Acting Deputy Project Director Rosemary Green (extreme right).

COTABATO CITY – The Department of Education in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DepEd-ARMM) received today [September 03] a P19 million-school grant from the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) through the Basic Education Assistance for Mindanao (BEAM) that seeks to provide reinforcement to the School-Based Management (SBM) program being implemented in public schools in the region.

The SBM, which is designed to advance the quality and access of students to basic education has two key activities – the implementation of School Improvement Plan (SIP) and strengthening of School Governing Councils (SGC) – through building capacities of school administrators and teachers as well as bracing engagement of parents and the community to education stakeholders. More than a hundred individuals who were members of SGC, Local School Boards (LSB) and Parents, Teachers and Community Association (PTCA) attended the ceremony at the Estosan Garden Hotel here.

Ramon C. Bobier, Acting Australian Project Director for BEAM, said at the signing ceremony that the school grant will boost and sustain efforts to continually support public schools’ implementation of SIP.

“This grant is especially drafted for ARMM to augment the needs of its public schools – to enhance your schools, not only physically, but the quality of the learning outcomes of each ARMM student,” Bobier said.

The school grant, which will be allocated in three modes, benefits 380 public schools from 11 school divisions around the five-province autonomous region – Basilan (26), Lamitan (8), Sulu I (42), Sulu II (40), Tawi-Tawi (45), Marawi (13), Lanao del Sur I-A (31), Lanao del Sur II-A (42), Lanao del Sur II-B (29) and Maguindanao (61). The selection of the school-grant recipient had meet the following criteria – actively implementing its SIP with stakeholders, has organized and functional SGC and is using BEAM Learning Guides.

The modes are (1) Incentive-First Time, where P50,000 is apportioned to a performing school that meets that criteria and first time to receive the grant, (2) Incentive-Second Grant, where P30,000 is allotted to a performing school that has been a recipient of the DepEd National SBM Grant but is selected again for being able to meet the criteria and (3) Grant for Disadvantaged Schools, where P50,000 is allocated to remote and far-flung areas that needs financial assistance in the SIP implementation.

Beforehand, the recipients had undergone series of trainings to ensure effective implementation, monitoring and evaluation of their respective school improvement plans. Training component is one of the elements of the school grant.

Bobier added, “These beneficiaries were trained prior the distribution of grants. They have to go through financial management training to guarantee that their funds will be safeguarded properly. We just pray that they [beneficiaries] will use this grant effectively to totally upgrade the quality of basic education in the ARMM.”

The BEAM had already trained 2,017 school heads in the region on planning for school improvement and other mechanisms. Workshops were also conducted to develop the plans according to the existent needs of the school which eventually functioned as blueprint for school development.

ARMM Regional Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan, grateful to BEAM’s continuous assistance to the education sector of ARMM, earlier appealed to the recipients of the grant programs to “utilize them effectively.” (BPI-ARMM*)

ARMM celebrates 109th Philippine Service Anniversary

2009-09-01T00:55:00.000-07:00

COTABATO CITY – The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) commenced today the month-long commemoration of the 109th Anniversary of the Philippine Service which focuses on recognizing public servants who display exemplary performances towards a quality and productive services to the public.

Themed “Honoring our Heroes in Republic Service – Responsive, Ethical Public Servants with Vision, Impact, Commitment and Excellence,” the Civil Service Commission in the region (CSC-ARMM) emphasizes the devotion, honesty, excellence and sacrifices of heroes in service both to the public and republic.

ARMM Regional Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan, in his address, salutes all public servants “whose invaluable contributions earned them the rightful place as heroes.”

CSC-ARMM Assistant Commissioner Elmer R. Bartolata cited CSC Memorandum Circular No. 27, Series of 2009, “that the best way for public servants to honor the heroes among us, is not just to extol and reward their achievements, but to emulate their example through republic service.”

Also, in his message, CSC Chairman Ricardo L. Saludo reiterated that “a public servant should be ethical in the highest order of principle and imbue our life with deepest integrity to remain public trust and support.

“The interest and welfare of the people shall always be at hand. The public must come before its servants, as the civil service motto states, "Mamamayan Muna," Saludo further said.

In adherence, the CSC-ARMM is persistent on the completion of agency's Citizen's Charter, help desks and anti-fixer campaigns and staff seminars on customer service as provided by the Anti-Red Tape Act (ARTA) of 2007 to immediately address public needs and concerns.

The entire September celebration comprises parlor games, clean up and tree planting, provincial and regional quiz bee and inter-agency friendship games; and will culminate by awarding the Outstanding Officials and Employees in the ARMM, Cultural Show and Family Day.

Regional Governor Ampatuan further challenged civil servants in the region “to commit yourselves to maintaining the standards of civil service at its highest, of keeping the moral and ethical standards of serving the country and of delivering to the people the public service they deserve.”

He urged all personnel of government agencies in the region, local government units, government-owned or controlled corporations and state universities and colleges to take part in the celebration.

“I hope this celebration will further inspire each of us to keep up with the principles of being an ideal and efficient public servant. The ARMM regional leadership is committed to provide a working environment conducive to the professional growth and development of government employees,” Ampatuan said. (BPI-ARMM*)

PGMA releases P50 M for Mindanao River Basin rehab’s master plan

2009-08-25T23:32:00.000-07:00

ALABEL, Sarangani – President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo handed over Tuesday a 50 million check to the Mindanao River Basin Task Force for the completion of the comprehensive master plan that will thoroughly control the recurrent flooding in Cotabato City, Maguindanao and neighboring areas in Region 12.
Task Force Chairman Bishop Orlando Quevedo received the check during the joint meeting of the Cabinet and Presidential Task Force Mindanao River Basin Rehabilitation and Development here.

According to Bishop Quevedo, the President gave “short and long term responses” to the problem.

The short-term solution is the continuous dredging of the silted Rio Grande de Mindnaao (Pulangi) and re-channelling of Simuay River, all in Maguindanao, while the long-term solution entails a master plan that includes the establishment of a hydropower system and flood control structures.

In his briefing, Bishop Quevedo said the recent typhoon Jolina affected nearly 200 thousand families in Cotabato City and provinces of Maguindanao, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, South Cotabato and Sarangani. As of August 20, this year, damage on agricultural products and livestock reached P824 million while destruction to agriculture infrastructure totaled P1.2 billion.

Quevedo lauded the immediate response of the President but appeals to all government agencies and officials involved in the implementation, “we all need a sense of urgency and drive of immediate action.”

Earlier, the Task Force has laid down nine priority flood control rehabilitation projects in the Mindanao River Basin. These are the dredging of the Mindanao River Phase 1 and 2, dredging of the Tamontaka River, Simuay Flood Control Project, construction of access road from Quirino Bridge to Delta Bridge, repair and rehabilitation of Ala River Flood Control Project, channelization and bank protection and the Sultan Barongis Flood Control Project.

The Mindanao River Basin project covers 20,398 square kilometers which includes the marshlands of Liguasan, Libungan, and Ebpanan as well as the provinces of Bukidnon, Maguindanao, North Cotabato and South Cotabato.

ARMM Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan, also the Co-Chairman of Mindanao River Basin Task Force, extends gratitude to President Arroyo for the uninterrupted assistance to flooding problem in Southern Mindanao particularly to areas of the autonomous region.

“The regional government is helpful to the Task Force and exhausting all means to fully implement the necessary schemes to finally resolve the flooding, which brought too much destruction not only to our vital structures and livelihood but to several lives,” Ampatuan said. (BPI-ARMM*)

Japanese Amabassador Turn-over 5 - Classroom School Building

2009-08-25T22:48:00.001-07:00

August 26, 2009

Cotabato City-Japanese Ambassador to the Philippines Makoto Katsura turned-over yesterday, August 25, 2009, a 5-classroom school-building, fully furnished with tables and chairs worth 8,848,917 Japanese Yen (US $78,309) to the Bai Hanina Sinsuat National High School in Barangay Kusiong, Datu Odin Sinsuat (DOS), Province of Maguindanao.

The project funded through the Embassy of Japan’s Grant Assistance for the Grassroots Human Security Project (GGP) and implemented by the Japan-Bangsamoro Initiatives for Reconstruction and Development (J-BIRD) will benefit 210 high school students in the community composed of 80% indigenous peoples (IPs) and 20% Muslims and Christians.

The Japanese government had launched J-BIRD in December of 2006 as part of its commitment to support peace and development efforts in Mindanao. The program has been providing assistance in construction and rehabilitation of school-buildings, training centers and water supply systems through the GGP program.

Ambassador Katsura was joined by DOS Municipal Mayor Datu Ombra Q. Sinsuat, Sr., who donated the 500 sq. meter lot used for the building, in the ceremonial cutting of the ribbon and unveiling of the building marker. Also present during the event are Japanese embassy officials, Bai Alibai Benito Aliuden, Al-Haj, Maguindanao Assistant Schools Division Superintendent, Datu Ibrahim B. Gulan, the school’s founding principal, DSWD-ARMM officials and staff, and the school’s students and their parents.

The Japanese ambassador also personally donated notebooks to the students saying that he was deeply touched when he heard that the school used only four makeshift classrooms and understood how difficult it was for the students and the mentors alike.

“I can just imagine the challenges that the school management had to go through just to provide the student with high quality of education,” Katsura said.

Katsura expressed high hopes that the students will study harder to develop their potentials in a better and more comfortable learning environment.

DOS Municipal Mayor Sinsuat expressed deep gratitude for the very big help and convenience the Japanese government has extended to the people in his municipality.

“We deeply thank the Japanese people for their enormous help to our people especially our students. This time the Japanese landed for peace and not for war,” Sinsuat jokingly said.

Last week, ARMM Regional Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan gathered together the prime movers of basic education in the Autonomous Region in the first-ever ARMM Basic Education Donors Forum where the Japanese government represented by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) took part as one of the international donor institutions instrumental in the implementation of key programs to improve the quality of education in the region.

Ampatuan underscored the importance to synchronize efforts in improving the education sector and to maximize the impact of the development assistance from donor institutions such as the government of Japan. (bpi-armm)

ARMM Crafts Regional Gender and Development Code

2009-08-25T22:43:00.001-07:00

25 August 2009
ARMM Crafts Regional Gender and Development Code
Cotabato City - The Technical Working Group (TWG) of the Regional Sub-Committee on Gender and Development in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (RSCGAD-ARMM) has recently conducted a writeshop on the formulation of a regional Gender and Development (GAD) Code in the ARMM held in Davao City.
The writeshop was aimed to provide knowledge and understanding of the situation of women in the region and learn some techniques on policy development, legislative research and writing as guide in the formulation and crafting of the GAD Code.
RSCGAD intends to craft a substantive regional GAD code that will address the pressing GAD issues and concerns such as violence against women and children, reproductive health, marginalization and exploitation of women, misconceptions on and abuse of polygyny and divorce, issues on early/forced marriages, low level of literacy rate among women, exercise of political rights among women, women’s economic rights, children’s rights and other gender biases.
Regional Planning and Development Office (RPDO-ARMM) Executive Director Diamadel Dumagay encouraged the members of the RSCGAD-TWG during the opening program of the three-day writeshop to be conscious and be realistic in considering the condition confronting women and children in the region.
The ARMM GAD Code is one of the identified priority bills of the present 6th Regional Assembly of the ARMM, added Dumagay.
As sub-committee of the Regional Social Development Committee (RSDC) of the Regional Economic and Development Planning Board (REDPB), the highest policy-making body of the Autonomous Regional Government, the RSCGAD was established in 2007 to intensify the regional government’s efforts in mainstreaming Gender and Development (GAD) in the region.
The said writeshop was initiated by the RSCGAD in partnership with RPDO-ARMM, the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). (bpi-armm)

UNICEF beefs up assistance for Maguindanao children

2009-08-23T19:53:00.001-07:00

COTABATO CITY – The United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF) assured that they will continue extending assistance to children affected in armed conflict in Maguindanao province. This was announced by Vanessa Tobin, UNICEF Representative in the Philippines, during her visit here on August 19.

Tobin talked with the representatives of Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Education (DepEd), Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO), all of Maguindanao, and different non-government organizations (NGOs) operating in the province.

The DepEd-Maguindanao documented, in Datu Piang town alone, almost 3,000 school children who were affected in the recent sporadic clashes between government troops and elements of Moro Islamic Liberation front (MILF).

The PPDO also recorded 18,546 children-turned-Internally Displaced Persons (IDPS) in Maguindanao who were compelled to stop schooling due to continuous massive evacuation.
School children currently have classes under the trees, vacant buildings or houses and even in damaged classrooms. Most school buildings were devastated. Other schools have their tables, chairs and blackboards also damaged.

Further, Emma Ali of DSWD-Maguindanao laid out their plans of putting up Temporary Learning Centers (TLC) in evacuation centers for the children to resume schooling, “but the problem is we don’t have records on who are returning homes and who are staying.”

However, Ali noted that they have already identified two (2) resettlement areas in Datu Piang and Datu Saudi Ampatuan towns for families who could not able to go back anymore to their respective places of origin “because their houses were already burned.”

Community and Family Services International (CFSI), an NGO based here, also established Child Friendly Spaces in some areas in the province.

The DSWD has proposed 20 TLCs for Datu Piang alone – the most affected municipality in the province since war broke in July, last year.

In response, Tobin said that an interacted plan for Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) and primary education should be put in place. Also, the setting up of a structured cluster that would ensure child protection is immediate.

ECCD through Republic Act 8980 is a comprehensive policy and national system that seeks to provide the basic holistic needs of children in the country.

“As vanguard for children’s rights, we must guarantee support to children and refuge for children. Let us provide support for early learning. I will be here frequently to help you in this effort,” Tobin said.

Governor Datu Sajid Islam Uy Ampatuan thanked the UNICEF for the incessant support to Maguindanao particularly in the case of children affected in war while ensuring cooperation for a genuine implementation of its programs. (BPI-ARMM*)

ARMM holds first ever basic education donors forum

2009-08-19T23:50:00.000-07:00

Davao City - Prime movers of basic education in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) pooled together today in the first ever ARMM Basic Education Donors Forum this city.

Organized by the Department of Education (DepEd)-ARMM, the Regional Planning and Development Office (RPDO) and the Oversight Committee on Strengthening Development Assistance Coordination (OC-SDAC) in ARMM, the forum was attended by various local and international donor institutions.

In attendance were heads and representatives of the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Asian Development Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency, United Nations Children Fund, Department of Education-National Office, Mindanao Economic Development Council, International Labor Organization, Department of Public Works and Highways, Consulate of Malaysia and ARMM’s key cabinet officials.

The forum was intended to synchronize efforts to improve the region’s education sector and to maximize the impact of official development assistance.

ARMM Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan, in a message read by Executive Sec. Oscar Sampulna, said his administration recognizes the importance of basic education in poverty alleviation and in peace and development in general.

He said 52.8%, or equivalent to P5.2 billion, of the proposed budget of ARMM for 2009 will go to DepEd-ARMM to support urgent needs of the education sector.
Ampatuan lauded the DepEd-ARMM for coming up with a development plan and a six-year strategic plan on basic education.

The ARMM chief likewise requested members of donor institutions to consider the policies and guidelines on official development assistance adopted by the regional government in support to the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.

The said policies are designed to make the most of the aids being received by the region.

Ampatuan has already called for the creation of committees to manage the utilization of development assistance including on education such as the OC-SDAC.

DepEd-ARMM Secretary Udtog Kawit said the help from donor institutions has been largely instrumental in the implementation of key programs on improving the quality and access to basic education in the region.

“We were able to undertake innovative programs to improve basic education in the region with the help of our partners in the donor communities,” he said.

Kawit said the department’s budget barely suffices for the salaries of its more than 20,000 teachers and other employees.

The department is still in need of sufficient funds to invest on school infrastructures and other facilities, he said.

Kawit said they are looking forward to the enactment of House Bill 37 otherwise known as the Basic Education Act of ARMM in the Regional Assembly (RA), which is being fully endorsed by the ARMM Governor.

The Basic Education Act of ARMM seeks to strengthen basic education in the region. Its salient features were among the highlights presented during the forum.

DepED Undersecretary Manaros Boransing, who represented Secretary Jesli Lapus, lauded the efforts of the ARMM government in improving the state of education in the region. He noted the close working relationship between the DepEd National and the ARMM regional government under the present administration.

The donor community unanimously responded positively and vowed to continue their assistance to improve the quality of education in ARMM. (bpi-armm)

Ampatuan heads HELP-CM Task Force in ARMM

2009-08-19T00:20:00.000-07:00

SHARIFF AGUAK, Maguindanao – Regional Governor Dat Zaldy Uy Ampatuan of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) lauded the national government’s effort of creating Health, Education, and Livelihood Progress in Central Mindanao Task Force (HELP-CM Task Force) in pursuance to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s Administrative Order 267 signed on June 29, this year.

In a consultation held Tuesday at the Provincial Capitol here, the governor said that the Task Force will serve as convergence mechanism for Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) efforts in dealing with the effects of conflict in Central Mindanao particularly in the areas of autonomous region.

“It is a privilege for me to be a member of HELP-CM Task Force. As such, the national government recognizes our value as the ones who knew entirely the real state of the region especially the on-going conflict and the plight of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). We are the key players here,” Ampatuan said.
The governor also derides the claim of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that they are the representatives of the Bangsamoro people in region.

He said, “We are the real representatives or spokespersons of the Bangsamoro people here because we are elected by the people. We are not only legally mandated by the Constitution, this is our moral obligation to the people.”

Moreover, Maguindanao Governor Datu Sajid Islam Uy Ampatuan, also a member of HELP-CM Task Force, hoped that the war would eventually end as he hails the implementation of Suspension of Military Operations (SOMO) and calls for the resumption of peace talks with the MILF.

“I am praying that the communities are now safe for the IDPs. They should be allowed to return to their places of origin. With SOMO and HELP-CM Task Force, they will finally live normally,” Ampatuan said.

Col. Medardo P. Geslani, 601st Brigade Commander, Philippine Army, responded that “all areas in the province are secured, as long as MILF will not cross the threshold.”

Geslani further justified their continued presence in the area, “There are troop deployments because there are lawless elements, but I can assure the IDPs that we already secured the area and could now return homes safely. (BPI-ARMM*)

ARMM Gov calls Gov’t Peace Panel to slow down; backs SOMO

2009-08-19T00:19:00.000-07:00

SHARIFF AGUAK, Maguindanao – Regional Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) called on the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) Peace Negotiation Panel not to rush up in coming with a final peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The ARMM chief executive made his call during the consultation on Tuesday at the Provincial Capitol here conducted by the government peace panel chief Undersecretary Rafael Seguis.

Ampatuan said that there should be a proper consultation with the different stakeholders in Maguindanao including the town mayors and barangay officials to institute a feasible outline that would resolve genuinely the continuing conflict.

“If you [GRP Peace Negotiation Panel] really care for Mindanao, you should consult the mayors, the local government units and even up to the barangay level -- all sectors in the society. This is the only way to attain legitimate peace in ARMM and we are very willing to take part of it,” Ampatuan said.

In response, Seguis assured that the government’s team is exhausting all means to decisively craft the final agreement citing, “I will never allow another TRO [Temporary Restraining Order]. If this would happen, the people will never believe the government again.”

Seguis is referring to the TRO the Supreme Court (SC) issued when the MoA-AD is about to be officially signed in July 2008. In October of the same year, the SC declared MoA-AD unconstitutional.

Further, Seguis laid out the upshot of initial talks with the MILF Negotiating Panel which have just resumed communication in July 28 and 29, this year, after almost a year of stalemate.

Both panels agreed to effort mutually the sustenance of Suspension of Military Operations (SOMO)/Suspension of Military Actions (SOMA) in the conflict-affected areas, acknowledge that Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MoA-AD) is an unsigned and initialed document which needs reframing on substantial consensus points, design a mechanism that would protect non-combatants in armed conflict and beefing up International Contact Group.

Governor Ampatuan, on the other hand, gives surety that the regional government is backing the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) pronouncement of SOMO/ SOMA in the conflict areas.

“The entire ARMM Regional Government supports the strategies to conclusively design the GRP-MILF final compact without jeopardizing the plight of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the province,” Ampatuan said. (BPI-ARMM*)

RG Ampatuan-Ambassador Seguis

2009-08-18T08:41:00.000-07:00

ARMM Regional Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan (right) reiterates to government peace panel chair Rafael Seguis his all out support to the government peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. He, however, emphasized the need for a proper consultation with all the stakeholders, especially the local government officials, before any peace agreement will be signed. (bpi-armm)

RG Ampatuan-Senate President Enrile

2009-08-18T08:35:00.000-07:00

ARMM Regional Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan (left) in a huddle with Senate President Hon. Juan Ponce Enrile during the wedding of Datu Amir Ampatuan-Macapendeg, grandson of former Maguindanao Governor Datu Andal Ampatuan, Sr. with Bai Pangandongan Dilangalen, daughter of Maguindanao First District Rep. Didagen Dilangalen. Regional Governor Ampatuan took time in discussing with the senate president the 2010 ARMM proposed budget amounting to P12.6 Billion where the latter expressed support. (bpi-armm)

GSKP folks benefit ARMM projects

2009-08-13T19:03:00.000-07:00

GEN. SALIPADA K. PENDATUN, Maguindanao – The Autonomous Regional Government through the ARMM Social Fund Project (ASFP) has continue to beef up its programs and projects to continuously address the basic needs of poor communities in the five-province autonomous region.

Most recent is Barangay Ramcor here, where ASFP thru Japan International Coordinating Agency (JICA) funds extended P1.5 million-assistance under its Community Development Assistance (CDA) sub-component project for the construction of a two-classroom school building and multi-purpose center.

These projects are included in the 2009 Community Investment Plan realized by People’s Organization (PO) named Ramcor Farmers Association (RFA) and barangay local officials to enhance the delivery of basic education and other social services for the people of Ramcor.

As of 2007 census, Barangay Ramcor has a population of 2,469 with a total land area of 992.64 hectares which depends mostly on farming [rice and corn] as livelihood.

PO President Zaldy Akil said that education in Ramcor is poor due to room scarcity citing “there are only two rooms established for the entire secondary school.”

“That is why; we agreed to first establish the school building for Bai Tambabai National High School. We could no longer endure seeing our children transferring from one place to another, like warehouse [bodega], just to continue learning. We believe that through education, we are building a foundation for further development in our barangay,” Akil said.

Moreover, a third year high school student, Jackyrie Datukan, in high spirit with the on-going construction of two classrooms stressed, “once the construction is completed, we will no longer bicker for space and soon we will be studying quietly.”

“Often, the class is so noisy because of aridness and limited space. We bear all those just to be in school. We are so happy that soon we can concentrate with our lessons,” Datukan said.

The ASFP adapts the Community-Driven Development (CDD) approach in initiating projects in the communities. The people’s organization who knew most the needed projects in their communities, are the ones responsible in the implementation. Stakeholders have lauded such method for it established transparency, accountability and unity in the grassroots.

Barangay Chairman Tikboy Kali expressed gratitude to the regional government and the ASFP for giving them an opportunity to become one of the beneficiaries of its flagship projects.

Meanwhile, Atty. Mustapha Sambolawan, ASFP Project Manager, said the community-based infrastructure projects manifest the regional government’s effort to enhance the socio-economic condition of the people.

ARMM Regional Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan is confident that with the ASFP projects, the Autonomous Regional Government will continue to empower communities as well as improve the living conditions of the people, thereby creating sustainable development and peace in the region.

The CDA project component is part of the 2.47 billion yen commitment of Japan government through JICA fund which started in 2005 to support the peace and development program of the Government of the Philippines. (BPI-ARMM)

Marawi firm inks MoU with Bukidnon farmers

2009-08-09T20:20:00.000-07:00

COTABATO CITY – The annual business convention in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) has envigorated economic activities and is gaining ground as various business sectors are pushing new efforts to increase trade and investments in the region.

The recent 7th ARMM Business Congress paved way for Bukidnon farmers to seal a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a manufacturing company based in Marawi city.

Signed on August 6, this year, the Manobo Tribal Communities Association, Inc. (MATRICA) of Barangay Kalagangan, San Fernando, Bukidnon agreed to produce soya beans and other raw materials for Suming Lee Food Processing Plant.

Suming Lee manufactures food energy drink made of soya beans marketed all over the autonomous region and neigboring areas.

The project with an area of 3,000 hectares of land is estimated to cost P800 million or US$20 million, once finalized. The parties settled to study the joint venture and had arranged future discussions and agreements.

Beforehand, La Frutera Inc., based in Datu Paglas, Maguindanao is the biggest investment so far in the autonomous region.

It was in 1997 when Ultrex and Chiquita Unifrutti, major fruit companies in the world, agreed to a 20-year contract with La Frutera Inc. – the first large-scale banana plantation in the ARMM. Chiquita Unifrutti bought La Frutera’s bananas, market them under the Chiquita and Unifrutti brands, and then export them abroad.

La Frutera has continue to provide jobs to Muslim and Christian residents, not only in Datu Paglas, but also in municipalities of nearby Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat provinces. It prides itself to have links in Japan, Korea, and China as well as some countries in the Middle East and Europe.

Moreover, ARMM officials are recently stepping up its efforts to make the region the country’s Halal hub by striving Halal Fraud Bill to become a law. The measure will control devious businesses and practices regarding Halal foods as well as protect consumers from products that pose danger to health and safety.

Participants of the two-day congress held in Marawi City, Lanao del Sur have expressed confidence on ARMM's ability to make a major economic turnaround, especially with its participation in the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-the Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA). (BPI-ARMM)