By Ali G. Macabalang

SHELTER UNITS: BARMM Assistant Senior Minister Abdullah "Dong" Cusain leads his team in inspecting the implementation stage of 50 core shelter units in Wao, Lanao del Sur on Aug. 3. (Supplied photo)

COTABATO CITY – Fifty core shelter units intended for internally displaced persons (IDPs) from  Marawi City and indigent families in Barangay Bo-ot, in Wao, Lanao del Sur are now over 70% completion, the interim governance of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) announced this week.

Abdullah Cusain, Assistant Senior Minister at the BARMM's Office of the Chief Minister (OCM), revealed the project completion stage in a statement on his inspection of the site last Tuesday,  August 3.

Cusain, serving as focal manager for the Kapayapaan sa Pamayanan (KAPYANAN), said the project is one of the special programs of Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim aimed at improving the living condition of the poorest of the poor in the Bangsamoro region.

"I would say nasa more than 70% na rin itong physical structure ng mga pabahay, and I really tried my best to visit the area, dahil I want to see for myself kung ano yung actual accomplishment or percentage of implementation sa (project) area," Cusain said in a statement released by the Bangsamoro Information Office (BIO).

Equipped with solar power and water components, the 50-units shelters cost over Php20.3 million, with each unit costing Php406, 254.64, he said.

Cusain said the shelters are part of the 1000 housing units planned for Lanao del Sur by the OCM in 2019 budget appropriations.

For fiscal year 2020, additional 900 units were pipelined for the province, and another 1000 units for 2021, he said, hinting at giving priority to some of the IDPs from the war-torn Marawi City.

He said his team for the Wao project assessment visit also brought food packs and water containers for prospective housing units' recipients as a component of the KAPYANAN program.

Each of the assistance packages can last for two to three months among the recipient families, he said.

Last month, KAPYANAN conducted a similar food distribution for the beneficiaries of the 50 core shelters units in Barangay Dimapatoy, Bubong of Lanao del Sur. Bubong and Wao were among Lanao Sur towns that sheltered some of the 40,000 residents displaced in the infamous 2017 Marawi siege.

One of the IDP recipients - Assalan Ampatua, 42, a father of six, thanked the Bangsamoro Government for the relief aid and the permanent shelter intended for them, the BIO statement said.

"Pag nag-uusap po kaming limampung benepesyaryo ay natutuwa po kami at nagpapasalamat po kami sa nagbigay ng mga bahay, lalong lalo na po sa BARMM government," Ampatua was quoted as saying.

Municipal Councilor Jamal Adiong and Bo-ot Barangay Chairman Lominog W. Magondacan represented the local government during the food packs distribution last Tuesday, the BIO said. (AGM)

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