Caretaker gov’t accelerates livelihood dev’t, poverty-reduction in ARMM

MARAWI CITY, Lanao del Sur, Dec. 22 (PIA) -- The caretaker government of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) continues to work towards lifting the economic status of its constituents through the implementation of livelihood projects and other poverty-alleviation programs, ARMM Officer-in-Charge Mujiv Hataman said. 

During his first State of the Region’s Address (SORA) on Tuesday he cited the “Fish for Peace” program of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) where 5.52 million species of tilapia fingerlings and 679,000 pieces of carp fingerlings were distributed to 2,698 beneficiaries throughout the region. 

He said the BFAR was able to provide gillnets, hook and lines, fishpots, motorized and non-motorized bancas, and fish corals to 10,101 fishermen and 105 fisherman-associations under program. 

A total of 1,525 fishermen were also benefitted from the 61 units of Payao distributed by BFAR, he further said. 

Hataman also bared that 70 percent of the ARMM coastlines were placed under the protection of BFAR through the program’s Bantay Dagat component that resulted to the saving of five bundles of black coral, 52 hawksbill turtles, and 600 kilograms of hammerhead fish declared as endangered species. 

More than P214 million capital seed fund were meanwhile given to 2,500 associations in line with the Self-Employment Assistance-Kaunlaran (SEA-K) program of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). 

The Governor said the region was also allotted a total of P625 million Micro Livelihood Enterprise for capacity building of women under the Transition Investment Support Plan or Stimulus Fund. 

"We were able to release P691 million to 18,900 beneficiaries of the Cash for Work Program in addition to the P215 million for the 21,530 Sustainable Livelihood Program beneficiaries," he added.

According to him, the caretaker government has constructed 209 modified shelters for internally-displaced persons in Maguindanao, Sulu and Basilan while the construction of additional 140 units is still on-going. 

Hataman further said the regional recipients of the Indigent Senior Citizens Social Pension reached 8,836 while the Pantawid Pamilya Program has a total of 317,733 family-beneficiaries. (APB/PIA-10)