COTABATO CITY — The Bangsamoro government and the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) are working closely together for the upgrading of operations at airports and seaports in the autonomous region to help boost investments.
BARMM Transportation and Communications Minister Paisalin P. Tago told a radio station here last Saturday that MinDA officials have already discussed with the Bangsamoro Ports Management Authority how agencies under the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) are supporting interventions to help the business climate in the region.
“The Ministry of Transportation and Communications-BARMM is committed to its partnership with MinDA. Together we can improve the seaports in the region, plan out the construction of more as projects of the regional government with imprimatur from our chief minister, Ahod Ebrahim,” Mr. Tago said.
MinDA, which is based in Davao City, is operating directly under the Office of the President.
Three island provinces in BARMM, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi are connected to trading centers in Zamboanga City in Region 9 via sea routes jointly guarded by the Armed Forces and the Philippine National Police.
An agency of the national government, the Office on Transportation Security (OTS), and the Bangsamoro Airport Authority under MoTC-BARMM are now planning bilateral protection programs for the Cotabato Airport in Datu Odin Sinsuat town in Maguindanao del Norte.
The Cotabato Airport is only about eight kilometers south of the BARMM capitol in this city.
“All is well with the partnership of the OTS. The MoTC-BARMM and this agency of the national government together aim to put in place security measures to protect the Cotabato Airport based on international standards,” Mr. Tago said. — John Felix M. Unson
