School building to rise in North Cotabato conflict area

KIDAPAWAN CITY– To improve the quality of education of pupils in a conflict area, a school building is soon to rise at Barangay Patadon here, one of the many conflict zones in Mindanao chosen as beneficiaries of a Japan-funded projects. On Wednesday, a grant contract signing between the local government units and other project beneficiaries and the Embassy of Japan was held at Pasig City. Kazuhide Ishikawa, ambassador of Japan to the Philippines, was among the signatories. After the signing, a grant amounting to US645,879 (P27.127 million) was turned over to seven project beneficiaries. For Kidapawan City, a grant amounting to US92,785 (P4.082 Million) was released to Mayor Joseph Evangelista for a school building with three classrooms and complete with amenities for Patadon Elementary School. The city LGU, the mayor said, will appropriate an equity of about half a million pesos for the project. Evangelista said the fund came from the Japanese people through the Embassy of Japan under the Japan-Bangsamoro Initiatives for Reconstruction and Development (J-BIRD). The project was endorsed by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) and Bangsamoro Development Authority. The project implementation is one year, according to Evangelista. Barangay Patadon is site of a deep-seated conflict between two warring Moro clans.One clan is believed connected to the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) while the other to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The conflict stemmed from land and politics. For Evangelista, the project is a gift from the people of Japan. Let’s value it and use it for sustained peace and development,” he said. Aside from Kidapawan City, also included in the J-BIRD’s beneficiaries are the municipality of Vincenzo Sagun in Zamboanga del Sur provincial government of South Cotabato municipality of Alamada in North Cotabato Cotabato Regional and Medical Center in Cotabato City Rizal Molave Multi-Purpose Cooperative in Molave, Zamboanga del Sur and Islamic Multi-Purpose Cooperative. Undersecretary Luisito Montalbo, OPAPP’s executive director, said the grant contract signing was one event that underscores the implementation of J-BIRD’s Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security projects as another milestone for the peace process as it complements the efforts of the Philippine government in improving socio-economic conditions of individuals affected by armed conflict in Mindanao through addressing their basic human needs.”