Eight newly hired employees of the Ministry of Human Settlements and Development (MHSD) for the BARMM island provinces Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi (BaSulTa), took their oath of office on March 29, 2021 at the MHSD Extension Office in Tetuan, Zamboanga City.

Seven of the employees will serve as Area Supervisors and Coordinators of their respective provinces while one will serve as Executive Assistant to the Deputy Minister. They are AbdulHamid S. Tan, Basilan Area Supervisor; Nidznalin I. Kasim, Basilan Area Coordinator; Mohammed Aishier Dammang, Sulu Area Supervisor; Krischner-Vincent I. Lali, Sulu Area Supervisor; Hussin A. Amin II, Sulu Area Coordinator; Nik-Othman C. Abdullah II, Tawi-Tawi Area Supervisor; Jegar Knaik, Tawi-Tawi Area Coordinator; and Josyl S. Lorena, Executive Assistant to the Deputy Minister.

The oath was administered by Deputy Minister Jose I. Lorena and witnessed by Mursidier A. Sajili, Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the BaSulTa Extension Office, and by several employees from the Regional Office.

Deputy Minister Lorena expressed optimism that with the new workforce taking oath, the foundation of the provincial offices in BaSulTa has been set and will be established further in due time to better serve the needs of the Bangsamoro people in the island provinces.

In an interview, Minister Hamid Aminoddin D. Barra heartily congratulated the new MHSD employees and said their oath taking indicates the sincere effort of the ministry to establish ethnic balance in its workforce.

“In shaa Allah (If Allah wills), we are leading to that moment when we are able to organize the provincial offices of the Ministry that will implement our projects in their respective areas”, Minister Barra said with hopefulness.