COTABATO CITY โ In line with the preparation for the upcoming meeting of the Intergovernmental Infrastructure Development Board (IIDB), officials and members of the Infrastructure Development Committee (IDCom) under the Bangsamoro Economic Development Council (BEDC) discussed the proposed national infrastructure projects for fiscal year 2024 for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) during a special meeting held Monday, Feb. 13 at the conference hall of the Ministry of Public Works (MPW), Bangsamoro Government Center, this city.
The said meeting was presided by Architect Eduard U. Guerra, IDCom chairperson and MPW minister, together with Dir. Kadil Sulaik, Jr. as representative of Engr. Mohajirin T. Ali, IDCom co-chair, head of technical secretariat, and Bangsamoro Director General of the Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority (BPDA).
Minister Guerra revealed during the meeting that the construction, rehabilitation, improvement, annual maintenance, and repair of national roads, bridges, and other infrastructures such as water supply system, flood control and drainage systems, and office buildings are among the proposed FY 2024 nationally funded infrastructure projects in the BARMM.
In his presentation, Minister Guerra discussed the โPublic Utilities and Infrastructuresโ under the Article XIII, section 37 of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), emphasizing that the national government shall fund and implement the construction and maintenance of the national roads, bridges, water supply and services, and flood control and irrigation systems, and maintenance of the existing airports, seaports, and wharves in the BARMM.
Furthermore, he recommended that there shall be a cooperation and coordination between the Bangsamoro government and the appropriate national or local government bodies in terms of water supply and services, as well as for the flood control and irrigation systems that connect to or from other facilities outside the region. He also underscored that all national roads and bridges in the BARMM shall be included in the national road network information system and the nationally-funded infrastructure projects shall be implemented by the national government.
Also in attendance were Minister Abu Amri Taddik of the Ministry of Trade, Investments and Tourism (MTIT), Minister Akmad A. Brahim of the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Energy (MENRE), and other committee members.
Being the technical secretariat of the said committee, Engr. Mohammad Hadafie A. Abubakar, chief for Infrastructure Planning Division of the BPDA, facilitated the conduct of this special meeting. (Mary Lovella Lao-Lastimosa with reports from Akmad Samayatin)
