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COTABATO CITY — The Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILG) led by Minister Atty. Naguib G. Sinarimbo and Deputy Minister Abunawas “Von Al-Haq” L. Maslamama, conducted a Project Implementation Review and Action Planning for Current Year 2023 for Project TUGON on March 30, 2023, at the Em Manor Hotel and Convention Center in Cotabato City.
The activity was focused on the goal of strengthening collaborative mechanisms among partner agencies and developing a concrete plan of action and supplemental guidelines as needed.
Representatives from the Ministry of Trade, Investment, and Tourism (MTIT), the Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD), the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education-Technical Education and Skills Development (MBHTE-TESD), the Teach Peace, Building Peace Movement (TPBPM), and MILG Field Officers took part in the activity.
Left photo: MILG Deputy Minister Von Al-Haq; right photo is MILG Minister Naguib G. Sinarimbo.
Sinarimbo, the spokesperson of BARMM, emphasized that the activity is expected to lead to some areas requiring improvement and expansion. “Let us strengthen the links between the community resilience framework and the TUGON program to counter extremist narratives and address those needs and challenges for project implementation enhancement,” he said.
“We are here to concentrate our minds for future action on the implementation of Project TUGON; it is indeed commendable that the line agencies worked together to achieve the project goals and mission through this consultation, and aspire towards the development of Bangsamoro,” MTIT Minister Abuamri A Taddik said.
Maslamama concluded the activity with the remark, “hopefully, we will continue to engage in activities that promote peace and drive us to better serve our constituents, particularly our fellow former members of local armed groups who have chosen to return to the folds of the law.”
TUGON (Tulong ng Gobyernong Nagmamalasakit) is a regional mechanism spearheaded by the MILG that aims to supplement the Normalization Track for non-MILF former combatants. This initiative provides humanitarian assistance to former combatants and insurgents who have chosen to reintegrate into society.
The Bangsamoro region, established in 2018 by the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) to implement the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), is made up of the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao (now split as Maguindanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Norte), Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, the cities of Cotabato, Lamitan, and Marawi, as well as the 63 barangays or villages dubbed Special Geographic Area (SGA) that voted “yes” in a plebiscite in February 2019 to be under the BARMM jurisdiction.
According to the Philippine Atlas has 4,404,288 people. It has 116 municipalities: Basilan, 11 municipalities; Lanao del Sur, 39; Maguindanao, 36; Sulu, 19; and Tawi-Tawi, 11. Its component cities are Cotabato (the regional center and capital) in Maguindanao; Lamitan in Basilan; and Marawi in Lanao del Sur. (✓)
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News Release