EX-REBELS' HOMES. Officials of the Ministry of Human Settlements and Development (MHSD) break ground for the construction of 100 housing units for former Moro rebels in two villages of Pigcawayan, North Cotabato on Thursday (Dec. 23, 2021). Another 50 housing units, also for former Moro Islamic Liberation Front combatants and internally-displaced families, will be built at the same time in Barira, Maguindanao. (Photo courtesy of MSHD-BARMM) COTABATO CITY - Seen as clear evidence of the dividends of peace in Mindanao, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has stepped up its housing program for settlement by former Moro combatants and internally displaced persons in the region. In a statement Friday, the region's Ministry of Human Settlements and Development (MHSD), there is no letup in expanding the construction of housing units for resettlement projects intended for ex-MILF combatants, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and other needy sectors across the region. On Thursday, the MHSD held separate groundbreaking ceremonies for the construction of 150 units of housing projects for the villages of Buricain and Simsiman in Pigcawayan, North Cotabato; and for Barangay Nabalawag in Barira, Maguindanao. Funded under the Special Development Fund (SDF), each of the 50-units of resettlement housing projects for Barangays Buricain and Simsiman are worth PHP28,722,864 and PHP27,839,114, respectively. On the other hand, for Barangay Nabalawag, MHSD-BARMM has earmarked PHP25,475,931 for the establishment of another 50-unit housing project with land development, subsidized under the General Appropriations Act of the Bangsamoro (GAAB) for the fiscal year 2021. All the 150 units of resettlement housing projects are expected to be completed within 200 days or mid-2022. MHSD Minister Hamid Aminoddin Barra said the housing project for the ex-rebels is just one of the deliverables that their office is doing to help Bangsamoro communities that suffered decades of armed hostilities to recover. "As we go on with the extension of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), we will be doing more development. In the case of MHSD - including our 2022 projects - we will be constructing more than 2,000 houses," Barra, a lawyer, said. Barra said four towns in Lanao del Sur have benefited from the same project, including the provincial islands of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, as well as the city of Cotabato. "By next week, we will be signing a contract with the island provinces for the construction of 600 housing units," he said. The selection of target beneficiaries for the project is in the hands of MILF contingents, he added. Yasser Rapun, chief of the housing and human settlements division, said in the case of Barangays Buricain and Simsiman, each project's lot area has two hectares, and each house has an area of 42 sq. meters. "In the terms of land acquisition, we have some projects where we bought parcels of land or otherwise they are donated," he said. (PNA) }