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COTABATO CITY — The Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE) has acquired three school buses to benefit learners in BARMM, subsidized under the 2024 General Appropriations Act of Bangsamoro (GAAB).
During the turnover ceremony on Wednesday, September 17, 2024, the Archon Machineries handed over the symbolic key to MBHTE Minister Mohagher M. Iqbal. His ministry is one of the 15 primary ministries of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Each of these buses can accommodate 40-70 passengers with a seating capacity of 20-30 persons.
Minister Iqbal emphasized that the provision of these buses is more than just the acquisition of vehicles — it is an investment in the capacity to respond swiftly, efficiently, and effectively to the needs of the learners.
Further he underscored that it is one of the initiatives that aim to support educational advancement for the future success of learners, through its continued investment in essential resources remaining committed to its mission of leaving no Bangsamoro learner behind.
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 del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, and Tawi-Tawi, the cities of Cotabato, Lamitan, and Marawi, as well as the Special Geographic Area’s (SGA) 63 barangays or villages that voted “Yes” in a plebiscite in February 2019 to be under the BARMM jurisdiction. With the recent plebiscite at SGA, the BARMM now has eight new municipalities as residents voted “Yes”.
According to the Philippine Atlas BARMM has 4,404,288 people. It has 116 municipalities (plus eight newly established under the SGA: Basilan, 11 municipalities; Lanao del Sur, 39; undivided 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. (✓)