More BARMM scholars, OFWs from Sudan coming home

MORE scholars and Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) displaced by armed hostilities in Sudan are expected to arrive in the region, the Ministry of Social Services and Development in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MSSD-BARMM) said.

Bai Fatty S. Accoy, Bangsamoro Critical Assistance for Indigents in Response to Emergency Situations (B-CARES) Program focal person, in a statement, said 109 repatriated Bangsamoro scholars and OFWs affected by the ongoing military conflict in Sudan are expected to arrive soon.

Armed conflict erupted in Sudan in April, sending Filipinos there to run for their lives, including Bansamamoro scholars and OFWs.

The Philippine government has evacuated hundreds of OWFs out of Sudan before the conflict goes out of control.

Norhad Lagiles, an Islamic scholar taking his Master’s Degree in International School of Africa, said he and the rest heard series of gunfire about 10 days before Ramadan ends.

The Philippine embassy in Sudan transported them to the Cairo, Egypt where they processed the necessary documents for their immediate repatriation.

"Hearing the gunfire pushes us to leave and immediately called our family and the BARMM Government for assistance," Lagiles said in his facebook post.

Last May 9, MSSD-BARMM welcomed Lagiles and 48 other scholars and OFWs who separately landed in Zamboanga, Davao and General Santos City Airport.

They were given P10,000 cash assistance through the Ministry's Bangsamoro Critical Assistance for Indigents in Response to Emergency Situations (B-CARES) Program.

Social workers have also conducted assessment and profiling to determine other interventions for them

Lagiles expressed gratitude to the BARMM for all the interventions given them.

The BARMM Government along with other concerned agencies promised to provide support and assistance to the repatriated Bangsamoros as they reintegrate into their communities and recover from their experiences in Sudan. Mark

Anthony Tayco

BARMM investment venues highlight in Dubai Expo

THE Bangsamoro Board of Investment (BBOI) has showcase potential investment venues in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) at the 9th Annual International Conference and Exhibits 2023 from May 1 to 3 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Held at the Grand Hyatt Dubai, the event provided a platform for BBOI, enabling the BARMM investment body to highlight and open more doors to investments in the region.

The team led by BBOI Chairman Mohamad Omar Pasigan invited participants to explore the region's beauty and investment potentials of its diverse range of industries.

Other members of the BARMM delegation to Dubai are Board of Governor Datu Habib Ambolodto, and Bangsamoro Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) Executive Director

Atty. Sukarno Abas. The officials gave emphasis on BARMM being a “thriving hub of innovation, progress, and growth.”

“Our region is more than just a pretty face. It is a thriving hub of innovation, progress, and growth, with a diverse range of industries that provide endless opportunities for businesses of all sizes,” said Pasigan.

Pasigan added that it is home to cutting-edge technology companies, leading research institutions, world-renowned universities, and “a range of innovative startups that are making waves in the global economy.”

The event was attended by more than 1000 participants, including free zone delegations, senior policymakers, global business leaders, multilateral organizations, investors, and academics from over

100 countries around the world.

With the theme "Global Trade 2.0: Zones, An Ecosystem of Trust Driving Prosperity," the event was spearheaded by the World Free Zones Organization (World FZO), a global association representing the interest of free zone stakeholders.

Pasigan said: "We persuaded them to consider bringing investment to the region because when they do, they will be investing in a brighter future for themselves, their businesses, and the Bangsamoro community as a whole."

With multidimensional changes in economic, social, and technological spheres, the expo was a crucial tool to engage with counterparts and peers internationally to exchange ideas, share information, and have strategic discussions, Pasigan said.

Nash B. Maulana and Kasan Usop, Jr/BIO

LANAO del Sur Governor Mamintal A. Adiong, Jr. and his family cheered the fast case resolution of his near fatal ambush on Feb. 17, where four of his companions died, and vowed not to take any retaliatory action in the tradition of “rido,” or clan wars.

The leader of the attackers, Oscar Capal Gandawali, known to authorities as the head of a criminal gang engaged in gun-for-hire and illegal drugs, was killed last week in a gunfight with policemen who tried to arrest him.

Cases had also been filed against the gunmen who attacked the convoy of Mr. Adiong in Maguing, Lanao del Sur.

“I am grateful to the Police Regional OfficeBangsamoro Autonomous Region and the Lanao del Sur Provincial Police Office for the rigid investigation on the incident, which is a step forward in our quest for justice,” the governor said on Wednesday.

Mr. Adiong, a scion of Lanao del Sur’s politically influential Adiong ang Alonto clans, said he will never resort to retaliation to set an example to his constituents in the province’s 39 towns and the capital Marawi City.

“We shall leave everything to the judiciary,” he said.

Rido is rooted in traditional settlement processes, such as a means of extracting swift justice especially in cases involving clan honor and pride. It persisted in areas in southern Philippines where the government’s justice system is considered weak.

Lanao del Sur accounts for most cases of still unresolved clan wars in the Bangsamoro region that also covers Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, and the cities of Marawi, Cotabato and Lamitan.

Bangsamoro Local Government Minister Naguib G. Sinarimbo said he is thankful to Mr. Adiong for his non-confrontational stance despite the deadly ambush.

“His restraint is admirable. His relatives are towing the line. It is good,” Mr. Sinarimbo said on Wednesday.

Mr. Adiong and his office aide, Ali Tabao, were badly wounded in the attack that killed driver Hassanor Pundaodaya and their police escorts, Mohammad Jurai Mipanga Adiong, Johanie Lawi Sumandar, and Jalil Ampuan Cosain. John Felix Unson

PSA: Stable BARMM economy as inflation rate drops

THE inflation rate in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has dropped 1.1 percent from 7.6 percent in March to 6.7 percent in April, the Philippine Statistics Authority's (PSA-BARMM) reported on Wednesday, May 10.

PSA-BARMM Officerin-Charge Regional Director Engineer Akan Tula said the main factors contributing to the decrease of the region's inflation rate were the reduced costs of food and non-alcoholic beverages, transport, housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels.

"At some point, this deceleration of the inflation rate in BARMM can be considered as one of the indicators that the region's economy is going stable," said Tula.

Of the country’s 18 regions, BARMM is the fifth among the country’s regions after the National Capital Region (NCR) to have slowed down their inflation rate in April 2023.

BARMM used to have the sixth highest inflation rate.

"In the month of April 2023, BARMM inflation rate is 6.7 percent with 1.1 percent decrease as compared to 7.8 percent inflation rate in the previous month of March 2023," Tula stressed.

Among the provinces in BARMM, Tawi-Tawi recorded the highest inflation rate at 10.8 percent, followed by Basilan at 9.4 percent, Sulu at 6.6 percent, Lanao Del Sur at 5.4 percent with the lowest inflation rate and Maguindanao at 6.1 percent. All five have posted corresponding decreases in their inflation rates.

The PSA-BARMM also reported Cotabato City posted a lower inflation rate to 4.9 percent in April 2023, from 5.5 percent in March 2023.

The country’s inflation rate has dropped 1.0 percent to 6.6 percent in April from 7.6 in March 2023. Kasan Usop-BIO with Nash B. Maulana

MORE than 220 corn farmers in North Cotabato town of Carmen have received their indemnity checks for the damages incurred in recent cropping season, the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) in North Cotabato announced Thursday.

DAR and the Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC) released the indemnity checks over the weekend to farmer beneficiaries with a combined amount of P708,515 in Carmen, North Cotabato.

Cheryll Camariñas, Carmen Municipal Agrarian Reform Program Officer (MARPO), said that 227 Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs) from the different barangays of Carmen received their insurance claims as payment for their damaged crops.

One of them, Rosemary Calawigan, a corn farmer of Barangay Kimadzil, was all smiles as she received the

P9,000 worth of check from the PCIC representative.

"The amount we received will give us the opportunity to buy inputs and restart another cropping after we failed in the previous cropping season," Calawigan said in the vernacular.

She is one of the 227 ARBs who received their insurance claim, together with other ARBs in Barangays Malapag, Palanggalan, Aroman, Bentangan, Kibenes, Ranzo, Tunganon, Tupig, Liliongan, Macabenban, and Poblacion.

The releasing of checks was facilitated by PCIC Personnel Jumnar Luib and Marjorie Lyn Arcala, and was witnessed by DAR municipal office officials and personnel.

The ARBs were insured under PCIC's Free Insurance Coverage and were also registered in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture. Edwin O. Fernandez