Gov’t unveils plan to turn former MILF camp into residential, eco hub

This file photo taken on July 12, 2000, shows Army soldiers setting up a check point at Camp Abubakar. The government now plans to transform this former Moro Islamic Liberation Front camp into a residentia and economic hub. INQUIRER file photo / EDWIN BACASMAS

MANILA, Philippines — The blueprint for a future residential area and economic hub inside the former Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) camp has been formally launched, according to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity chief Carlito Galvez Jr.

The master development plan for the MILF’s Camp Abubakar was officially launched and signed on Tuesday at the 1st Marine Brigade headquarters in Brgy. Tugaig in Maguindanao del Norte’s Barira town, Galvez said in a statement on Thursday.

Galvez said the project, in line with the Executive Order No. 79 also known as Annex on Normalization of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro signed by the MILF and the national government, will be launched at a 300-hectare settlement site in the said area.

“It is a blueprint that targets the socioeconomic deficiencies in the camp by providing housing solutions for the MILF decommissioned combatants, as well as a platform for other national government agencies and BARMM ministries to bring in programs and change,” Galvez said in his speech during the launching ceremony.

The master development plan envisions the camp’s development in the next 20 years, containing initial 234 housing units for fiscal year 2024.

READ: Gov’t must address causes of ‘rido’ in BARMM – Galvez

Aside from this, the government will also build access roads, telecommunication access, potable water access, agricultural plantation areas, institutional and religious buildings, health facilities, mercantile areas, among others.

“It was the center of the conflict, but now it will be transformed for the normalization [process] for our brothers in the MILF,” Galvez said.