Bangsamoro may tap Middle East funds

THE new Muslim autonomous region in Mindanao is looking for funding from the Middle East to provide electricity to villages, the Finance department said in a statement yesterday.

Officials from the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao met with Finance officials last week to discuss the plan, which will create livelihood and jobs and attract investments, it said.

“Power generation is crucial to you especially in the island communities and some communities that are off the grid,” Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez Ill told Bangsamoro officials, according to the statement.

The autonomous region is also considering tapping the private sector for the electrification program, the Finance department said.

Among those present at the meeting were Bangsamoro Chief Minister Al-Hajj Murad Ebrahim and Ministers Naguib Sinarimbo and Eduard Guerra. — Beatrice M. Laforga