In a historic moment for the Bangsamoro region, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity (OPAPRU) launched a housing resettlement project at Camp Abubakar.
The project, which is part of the Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA) program, aims to provide homes for decommissioned Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) combatants and their families.
The groundbreaking ceremony was led by Presidential Adviser Carlito G. Galvez Jr. and Maguindanao del Norte Governor Abdulraof Macacua, along with other government officials and MILF leaders.
Once the stronghold of the MILF during its decades-long armed struggle, Camp Abubakar now symbolizes the peace achieved through the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).
This housing project is part of the broader Camps Transformation Plan (CTP), which seeks to convert six recognized MILF camps into peaceful and productive communities.
“We, in the OPAPRU, believe that the home is where the seeds of peace are first [planted]. The American novelist Kathleen Norris said it best: ‘Home is another name [for] Peace,” Galvez said.
He praised the collaboration between the government, MILF mechanisms, and local stakeholders, noting that this partnership has been crucial to the success of peacebuilding initiatives in the region.
Galvez acknowledged the contributions of various agencies, including the National Housing Authority (NHA), Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao’s (BARMM) Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Energy (MENRE).
He stressed the importance of a whole-of-nation approach to ensure the success of the Camps Transformation Plan.
“The OPAPRU program to provide housing for our combatants aligns with the moral governance of Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim of BARMM. We are very thankful for that,” Governor Macacua remarked.
He also expressed gratitude to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for supporting programs that address the needs of the Bangsamoro region and align with BARMM’s principles of moral governance.
