PRESS RELEASE – 29 November 2023
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COTABATO CITY– The Bangsamoro Camps Transformation Project (BCTP) promotes peaceful, productive, and stable communities in 12 previously acknowledged barangays in the Bangsamoro Region through diverse and sustainable livelihood projects.
The BCTP was launched on 4 July 2023, implemented by the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA Inc.) in partnership with Community and Family Services International (CFSI), with funding from the Bangsamoro Normalization Trust Fund (BNTF) administered by the World Bank.
“By increasing access to socio-economic services and basic infrastructure in the communities in the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) camps, the project also strengthens and cultivates the local capacities of beneficiaries and project participants such as farmers’ cooperatives, transitioning combatants, as well as women, youth, and indigenous peoples,” stated Noraida Abdullah Karim, CFSI Director for Mindanao Programme.
The project also involves capacity strengthening for staff and employees of BDA Inc., including the Joint Task Forces on Camps Transformation (JTFCT) MILF camp level coordinators through a series of trainings to be led by CFSI and the World Bank.
“The project is centered around community-driven development where the communities are the decision-makers around the types of sub-projects they choose,” said Kadafy Sinulinding, BCTP Project Coordinator from BDA Inc.
An orientation was conducted recently in Brgy. Minabay, Buldon, Maguindanao del Norte including Camp Abubakar. The group of farmers and transitioning combatants collectively chose and decided to build a warehouse with a solar dryer. They believe that this project will have a positive impact on their communities as their primary livelihood sources include coconut and corn production.
Women and children on the other hand, believe that various forms of breadmaking can become a stable source of income for them. This includes access to a multi-purpose development center with solar power.
Preliminary activities in the 12 communities are near concluded. This includes Landscape Planning, where community members understood different potential dangers and hazards, the different uses of their lands, the existing infrastructure within their communities that are not utilized property, and other initiatives that the community can benefit from with proper planning.
The project is also supported by the Bangsamoro Government through a Technical Working Group with representatives from the Cooperative and Social Enterprise Authority (CSEA), Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR), Ministry of Trade, Investment and Tourism (MTIT), Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD), Ministry of Health (MOH), Bangsamoro Women Commission (BWC), Bangsamoro Youth Commission (BYC), Ministry of Public Works (MPW), Ministry of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs (MIPA), Ministry of Interior and Local Government (MILG), Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority (BPDA), BARMM READi, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources and Energy (MENRE). The Technical Working Group had a successful first meeting on 12 October 2023 in Cotabato City.
The 1st Implementation Support Mission (ISM), led by the World Bank with BDA Inc. and CFSI, was conducted in Brgy. Mamaanun sa Balo-I, Lanao del Norte and Brgy. Sapad sa Matanog, Maguindanao del Norte. A technical validation on the chosen projects is expected to be conducted in the coming days.
The BCTP is led by a Project Board (PB) with Co-Chairs Brig. General De Mesa from the Philippine Government and Member of Parliament Hon. Ali O. Salik from the MILF. The PB also includes Member of Parliament Baintan A. Ampatuan, Mr. Mohaimen Usman, and representatives of the Office of the Presidential Adviser for Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU), Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority (BPDA), Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA Inc.), and Community and Family Services International (CFSI). The first meeting of the PB was held on 11 October 2023, where 12 barangays in the 6 major MILF camps were successfully endorsed.
The BCTP is implemented to support the normalization efforts in the MILF camps. This is one of the projects funded by the Bangsamoro Normalization Trust Fund (BNTF), supported by Australia, Canada, European Union and United Kingdom, administered by the World Bank.