COTABATO CITY — The Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority (BPDA) spearheaded today, October 30, 2020, the official turnover of the newly-constructed Rural Health Unit (RHU) to the local government of Talayan in the province of Maguindanao.
The completion of the RHU is in partnership with the Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Army’s 6th Infantry “Kampilan” Division through the “Bayanihan” approach of the 549th Engineering Battalion.
Bangsamoro Director General Mohajirin Ali said this project which is under the Humanitarian and Development Assistance Program (HDAP) of the defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) was continued upon the order of the Bangsamoro Chief Minister Ahod B. Ebrahim.
“There were still projects under the HDAP that needs to be pursued after the ratification of the Republic Act No. 11054 otherwise known as the Bangsamoro Organic Law or BOL. Therefore, the Interim Chief Minister (ICM) instructed our office, the Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority (BPDA) to help facilitate the unfinished projects under HDAP,” Ali said.
The ARMM-HDAP was implemented in response to the frequent occurrence of man-made and natural calamities in the conflict-affected areas in the province of Maguindanao particularly in the fifteen (15) priority municipalities covering the so-called “SPMS Box.”
BARMM Executive Secretary Abdulraof Macacua stressed that the initiative to continue the implementation of the remaining programs and projects of the defunct ARMM to the 15 municipalities is very challenging on the part of the Bangsamoro Government.
“Now that we are still in the transition process of establishing the bureaucracy of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, we assure the Bangsamoro people on the quality of projects being implemented under the leadership of our Chief Minister Ahod B. Ebrahim,” Macacua stressed.
Talayan Town Mayor Datu Ali M. Midtimbang Sr. was elated for the support of the various ministries and offices in the BARMM and militaries from the 549th Engineering Battalion on the construction of the RHU.
On February 14, 2020, various medical equipment was successfully turned over to IPHO-Maguindanao for safekeeping and will soon be delivered to the RHU of the said town. “Hopefully, with the medical health facility and various medical equipment, this town’s delivery of basic health services will be improved,” Ali said. (Lovella Lao-Lastimosa, IKMD, BPDA-BARMM)