DAVAO CITY – The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is building its first housing project outside its territorial jurisdiction in Mati City in Davao Oriental province.
The groundbreaking ceremony of the KAPYANAN (Kapayapaan sa Pamayanan) housing project in partnership with the city government was held on Friday, March 22, in Sitio Butuasan in Barangay Dahican.
In a statement, BARMM representative Engr. Mohammad Abdullah said the groundbreaking ceremony marks the start of the construction of 100 core shelters in a three-hectare land donated by the city government for members of the Moro community in Mati City.
Abdullah said the project is significant for the Bangsamoro people as it is the first by BARMM outside the region, a commitment to support the Moros beyond their usual borders.
He said the project materialized after Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) provincial chairman Roy Lopez noticed that Muslim residents in the city needed housing.
Nor Jannah L. Gulembayan, a member of the MILF technical working group, said it has long been their aspiration to see a BARMM project like housing for the Bangsamoro community in the city, particularly for those who do not own land or a house.
Gulembayan said the project has great significance and impact on the Bangsamoro people in Davao Oriental, particularly in Mati City.
“As we know, the Moro community has members that do not own any lot or house. Many lost their homes due to the recent disasters, so the project is timely for us,” Gulembayan said.
Besides the demand for Bangsamoro people housing, the city was chosen by the BARMM due to its standing to Amador Tandalong, head of the Policy Planning Monitoring Evaluation, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Agrarian Reform.
A native of Barangay Tagabakid working in BARMM, Tandalong said he knows and sympathizes with the needs of his people, thus, pushing for a housing project under the KAPYANAN program.
Mayor Michelle Nakpil Rabat pointed out that despite the history of armed conflicts between the MILF and the government in some parts of Mindanao, Mati City managed to avoid such disputes.
“We are unique here in Mati; here, we coexist. As the conflict rages, we still maintain good relations with one another. Let’s stop the stereotyping and stigma. The project is an extension of the BARMM telling me and telling all of us that they also want peace,” Rabat said.
The BARMM and Mati City partnership is the first major human settlement project between the Bangsamoro and the local government unit (LGU) outside the region.
BARMM has allocated P70 million for the project.
Rabat said the city government will also oversee the preparation and construction as part of its commitment to the completion of the project.