Provincial `fishing capital’ gets fire station project
COTABATO CITY --- The construction of a multi-million fire station in the fishing capital of Maguindanao del Norte, known as the most peaceful town in the province, started yesterday and local residents are glad about it.
Maguindanao del Norte Gov. Abdulrauf Macacua, Bangsamoro Local Government Minister Naguib Sinarimbo and Mayor Marshall Sinsuat together led the launching of the project in Barangay Pura in the seaside Datu Blah Sinsuat town.
Sinsuat said he and his constituents in the 13 barangays of Datu Blah Sinsuat are grateful to the regional government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao for providing them with a fire station building in Barangay Pura, seat of their municipal government.
The office of Sinarimbo, who is also overseeing BARMM’s disaster and calamity response outfit Rapid Emergency Action on Disaster Incidence, shall also provide Datu Blah Sinsuat with a brand new firetruck.
Officials of the Bureau of Fire Protection were also present in Thursday’s event in Datu Blah Sinsuat.
The Ministry of the Interior and Local Government-BARMM and the Datu Blah Sinsuat local government had earlier built a police station in the municipality.
Both are together constructing now a municipal government operations office and five barangay halls in the municipality. Datu Blah Sinsuat is about 40 kilometers west of Cotabato City, the capital of BARMM.
Macacua’s participation in the launching of the fire station project in Datu Blah Sinsuat was his first as governor of the newly-created Maguindanao del Norte, appointed last week by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“Let is work together for peace and sustainable development to spread around Datu Blah Sinsuat and in all other municipalities in Maguindanao del Norte,” Macacua said in a message to local residents after the project launching rite.
Macacua was senior minister of the BARMM government before he was sworn to office personally by President Marcos in Malacañang last April 5.
Macacua was accompanied to Datu Blah Sinsuat by Bai Sandra Sema, who had served as congressional representative of the still undivided Maguindanao province and mayors from what is now Maguindanao del Norte.
The old Maguindanao province that originally has 36 towns was divided into Maguindanao del Sur and Maguindanao del Norte via a plebiscite administered by the Commission on Elections in September last year.