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COTABATO CITY (SDN) — More construction projects are being implemented by the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) as various communities in the region enjoy the fruits and dividends of the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).
In this case, the construction projects are being implemented by the BARMM’s Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE) headed by Education Minister and Member of the Parliament (MP) Mohagher M. Iqbal.
Since he assumed the leadership in 2019 of the MBHTE, Iqbal, who wears many hats in the Bangsamoro peace process, has been implementing various measures to put in place reforms aimed at raising the quality of education for Muslim learners.
On November 20,2024, the education ministry broke ground for the construction of a Covered Court with Stage and Bleachers at Barangay Lower Pangangkalan, Pigkawayan, Cotabato. This new project will be funded under GAAB 2024, amounting to Php6,914,700. The barangay or village is under the jurisdiction of the BARMM and belongs to the Special Geographic Area (SGA).
This new building is part of the ongoing efforts of MBHTE to enhance quality education ensuring that no Bangsamoro learner shall be left behind.
Earlier, another groundbreaking ceremony was held last October 22 for the construction of a two-storey Madaris Educational Learning Center (MELC) in Barangay Sandab, Butig, Lanao Del Sur. Amounting to Php48.5 million, this new project will be subsidized under the Special Development Fund (SDF) 2022.
This initiative underscores the Ministry’s effort to enhance quality education by enhancing educational facilities in the region.
Going back, the MBHTE conducted a turnover ceremony on November 15 for the construction of one-storey with three-classroom school building at Mahad Kutawato Al-Islamie, Inc. in Mother Barangay Bagua, Cotabato City. Worth Php5, 611,220.50, this project is subsidized under the TDIF 2021.
Additionally, a groundbreaking ceremony was also held on November 18, 2024, for the construction of Cotabato City Manpower Development Center (CCMDC) at Bangsamoro Government Center (BGC) in the Technical Education and Skills Development (TESDA) in the BARMM, Rosary Heights VII, Cotabato City.
This project amounting to Php26,710,000 will be funded under General Appropriations Act of the Bangsamoro (GAAB) 2024.
These new buildings aim to provide a space for training programs for conducive learning environment, developing stronger engagement with the local community in enhancing quality education and skills development.
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. (✓)