𝐌𝐁𝐇𝐓𝐄 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐬𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐨 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐡 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬

         COTABATO CITY, January 23, 2026 — In celebration of the 7th Bangsamoro Founding Anniversary, the Ministry of Basic, Higher and Technical Education (MBHTE) held the Ceremonial Awarding of the Training Support Fund (TSF) for graduates of Health Care Services NC II under the 2025 Bangsamoro Scholarship Program for TVET (BSPTVET) on January 22, at the Sultan Kudarat Cultural Complex.

         At the head of the MBHTE, one of the 15 primary ministries of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), is Minister Mohagher M. Iqbal.

         The TSF strengthens both community-based and institution-based TVET programs designed to address the specific skills needs of communities across the Bangsamoro region while promoting employment and service-oriented opportunities. It is one of MBHTE’s key response to poverty in the informal sector, providing skills training to scholars who mainly belong to disadvantaged sectors.

         During the ceremony, graduate-scholars from Notre Dame Siena College of Cotabato, Inc. received a total of Php23,040.00 each in support. The awardees were Danielle Claire G. Deboma, Dece Joy Q. Necosia, Norhana M. Mohamad, Fatma A. Musil, and Asmaila S. Dacula, who successfully completed the Health Care Services NC II qualification, together with Mr. Harold Prince Edzrael, School Representative.

         The scholarship support was awarded by Ms. Mina D. Mangansakan, Representative of the MBHTE-TESD Cotabato City District Office, and Rafael Kapusan, Scholarship Focal Person, highlighting MBHTE’s sustained commitment to investing in the future of Bangsamoro learners.

         More than a ceremonial activity, the awarding is a celebration of resilience, progress, and purpose which honors the seven years of Bangsamoro governance by empowering youth with skills that uplift lives, strengthen communities, and build a more inclusive and hopeful Bangsamoro.

         The Bangsamoro region, established in 2018 by the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) to implement the 2014 CAB, is made up of the provinces of Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, and Tawi-Tawi, the cities of Cotabato, Lamitan, and Marawi, as well as the Special Geographic Area’s (SGA) 63 barangays or villages — now eight new municipalities — that voted “Yes” in a plebiscite in February 2019 to be under the BARMM jurisdiction.

         According to the Philippine Atlas BARMM has 4,404,288 people. It has 116 municipalities: 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. (✓)