The third round of the Quarterly In-house Updating of the Ministry of Human Settlements and Development, the Housing Arm of the BARMM, served as venue for the reporting of accomplishments, priority issues, and recommendations from July to September this year, by the various divisions and sections of the Ministry, held at the Conference Room of the MHSD Regional Office, Bangsamoro Government Center, Cotabato City on September 27, 2024.

Facilitated by the Information and Communications Section (ICS), with assistance from the Internal Planning Section (IPS) under the Office of the Minister, the continuing activity aimed at enhancing communication, fostering accountability, and maintaining a clear and comprehensive record of progress.

This is by encouraging every division and section of the Ministry to regularly document achievements, challenges, and ongoing works, establishing a dynamic and efficient framework, facilitating greater collaboration, informed decision-making, and strategic planning for the upcoming months.

The activity was graced by Bangsamoro Director General (DG) Esmael W. Ebrahim and Service Directors Suharto S. Wahab of the Technical and Regulatory Services and Salem C. Demuna of the Operations and Management Services.

The officials actively participated during the presentations, responding to issues, recommending ways forward, and following up pending services from the reporter-proponents.

BDG Ebrahim accentuated the importance of the activity, thanking the ICS for the laudable initiative and facilitation.

Dir. Demuna looked forward to the upcoming celebration of the National Shelter Month and the Asia Pacific Shelter and Settlements Forum (APSSF) 2024 where many activities of the MHSD will be highlighted.

He reminded participants of the entering last quarter, emphasizing how the financial and physical accomplishments will be used to gauge the Ministry’s capacity in handling future activities, as reflected in the 2025 budget proposal.

The ICS got the ball rolling with a summary of its activities, reporting 33 press release articles posted at the MHSD Facebook Page since June 28, with a total of 117 for 2024, 13 episodes of the MHSDelivers Radio Program from July to September, with a total of 188 episodes since 2021, eight rounds of MHSDisseminates that boosted engagement and interaction for the Facebook Page, with a total of 11 rounds and two video outputs since the 2nd In-House Updating, titled “First Housing Unit Awarding in Tawi-Tawi Takes Place in Historic Town of Simunul” and “100 Housing Units for 100 Families’ New Beginnings in BARMM’s SGA.”

For their respective offices, representatives from the Policy Development Coordination and Regulation Division, Internal Planning Section, Internal Audit Section, Procurement Section, Legal and Legislative Liaison Section, Environment, Land Use, and Urban Development Division, Records Section, Accounting Section, Housing and Human Settlements Division, Monitoring and Evaluation Division and the Planning and Design Division comprehensively shared the needed details for the updating period.

Submitting presentations but were unable to report due to time constraints were the Cash Section and Human Resource Management Section.