Fifty (50) housing units are soon to rise in in Maguindanao as the Ministry of Human Settlements and Development, the Housing Arm of the BARMM, broke ground in Brgy. Poblacion, Datu Saudi Ampatuan for Resettlement Project on March 9, 2023.
Bangsamoro Director General Esmael W. Ebrahim shared that MILF and MNLF combatants, Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and widows of Mujahideen will be prioritized as beneficiaries of the housing project based on strict profiling and verification, which will be conducted by the Housing and Human Settlements Division, in close partnership with the Local Government Unit (LGU).
Hon. Municipal Mayor Edris “Resty” Sindatok committed to help monitor the progress of the MHSD’s projects under his jurisdiction and assured the LGU’s support during the identification of deserving beneficiaries.
Each housing unit will be one-storey residential building with a 49 sq.m. floor area, two bedrooms, one living room, one comfort room, and kitchen, funded under the General Appropriations Act of the Bangsamoro (GAAB) 2022.
“On behalf of Minister Atty. Hamid Aminoddin D. Barra and Chief Minister Ahod B. Ebrahim, the MHSD’s primary projects will benefit our brethren in the Bangsamoro without homes. We endeavor to fill in the Housing Gap in the region and look forward to house all the Bangsamoro who need homes in the region, and this is just the start,” BDG Ebrahim said.
Representatives from the MHSD’s Provincial Office for Maguindanao, led by Provincial Director Noroden Abdullah, RF., took part in the groundbreaking ceremony and will monitor the project moving forward.
Including these 50 housing units, a total of 643 housing units are currently under construction in the province of Maguindanao, funded under GAAB 2021-2022, Bangsamoro Appropriations Act 2020, and Special Development Fund 2021
Mayor Sindatok also confirmed that many residents in Datu Saudi Ampatuan showed interest in the upcoming Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Housing Program (4PH) from the national office. He shared that there is a prospective site in Brgy. Madia for 4PH, to which the MHSD team conducted an ocular visit after the groundbreaking ceremony.
BDG Ebrahim clarified that a signing of Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development-Region 12 (DHSUD-12) will detail the actual duties and responsibilities of the MHSD for the 4PH in the BARMM, which aims to annually construct 20,000 housing units for loan for the next six years. Talks are underway to schedule the orientation of MHSD on the 4PH by the DHSUD-12.