ALABEL, Sarangani (October 6, 2022) – Officials turned over on October 6 the P3-million Sarangani Moro Resource Center which will serve as a venue for all the Moro initiatives in the provincial government.

The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), headed by District Engineer Rey Francisco, handed over the ceremonial key of the center to Governor Rogelio “Ruel” D. Pacquiao and to the rest of the officials and Moro leaders of Sarangani province.

According to Jehanna Pelima, program manager of RP Kalinaw and RP Sarangani Bangsamoro Affairs Program (SaBAP), the Moro center will serve as a venue for all the Moro constituents and will become a landmark for the Muslim Filipinos in the province.

It was in January 2020 when the multi-purpose building broke ground at the Capitol compound.

The Moro Resource Center was funded by then-Congressman and now Governor Ruel Pacquiao after then Board Member Abdulracman Pangolima lobbied for the project to the office of the congressman.

During the turnover, Governor Pacquiao said the creation of the Moro center is the manifestation of his support to the endeavors of the Moro communities of the province.

“We translate our support into actions, hindi lang puro salita kundi may gawa,” the governor said.

He further said the provincial government of Sarangani “ay patuloy na magbibigay ng suporta sa pag-sustain ng peace development sa ating minamahal na probinsya.”

In 2018, a resolution requesting then-Governor and now Congressman Steve Chiongbian Solon to provide an area for the resource center in the Capitol grounds was passed by the Sangguniang Panlalawigan.

According to Resolution No. 2018-9-034, the center will also provide a venue to showcase the culture of the Moro Sarangans through displaying heirlooms of their ancestors, and will also serve as an area for trainings and seminars of the Sarangani Madaris Federation and other Moro associations.

Pelima said the 170-square meter 1-storey multi-purpose building, located at the Capitol grounds next to Sarangani Indigenous Peoples Center, will be the office of the RP SaBAP and RP Kalinaw programs of the province. The building will also have a prayer room for the conduct of Salah.

She said the center will have a Kauyagan area where Moro entrepreneurs and women’s associations can display local Muslim products and delicacies at a reasonable price.

Sangguniang Panlalawigan Member Gwynn Singcoy, chairperson of the Committee on Muslim Affairs, also shared to his Moro brothers and sisters the milestone the Moro community has achieved in the legislative body of the government.

According to Singcoy, the Committee on Muslim Affairs is now a separate committee in the Sanggunian which was formerly a part of the Committee on Indigenous Peoples.

With these achievements, Singcoy said he looks forward to another milestone for the Moro community which is the “institutionalization of the Moro Development Program for the province of Sarangani.”

Also present during the turnover ceremony were Gapul Hadjirul, vice chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Central Committee; Haji Usman Mudsol of PNP Salam; Municipal Councilor Tungko Sadavao of Alabel; Provincial Engineer Jerry Belbider; Congressman Steve Solon’s Chief of Staff Engr. Gerald Faciol; representatives of the Moro Affairs Program of the seven municipalities; Moro women’s associations; and other partners and stakeholders of the provincial government of Sarangani. (Jori Mae R. Samillano/SARANGANI PROVINCIAL INFORMATION OFFICE)

 ?Martin Fernando Bernad Jr.