UN, BARMM assist Moro entrepreneurs

COTABATO CITY — An agency of the United Nations (UN) and the Bangsamoro government provided on Tuesday, eight groups of neophyte Moro entrepreneurs producing preserved native delicacies a P50,000 grant each as additional capital input to boost their productivity.

Bangsamoro Labor and Employment Minister Muslimin G. Sema said on Thursday that many of the entrepreneurs in the eight groups, based in barangays in Datu Odin Sinsuat and Talitay in Maguindanao del Norte and in Guindulungan, Shariff Saydona Mustapha and South Upi, all in Maguindanao del Sur, belong to families identified with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) that have separate peace pacts with the government.

This was facilitated through the Bangsamoro Rural Employment through Entrepreneurial Development (BREED) Program of the Ministry of Labor and Employment-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MoLE-BARMM).

It was led by Mr. Sema, Director-General Surab A. Abutazil, Jr., and Abdulrakman S. Nor of MoLE-BARMM’s Bureau of Labor Relations and Standards, at their regional office in Cotabato City.

Mr. Sema told reporters on Thursday that they are thankful to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, whose representative to MoLE-BARMM is Helen M. Flores, for its active involvement in the BREED Program.

Another entity under the UN, the International Labour Organization, is also MoLE-BARMM’s partner in addressing child labor and use of children as combatants by their clans that are locked in bloody “rido,” or feud in most southern vernaculars, triggered by affronts to family pride and honor, land disputes and political rivalries.

“To these two entities of the United Nations, we in the Bagsamoro Labor and Employment ministry are so grateful,” said Mr. Sema, who is chairman of the central committee of the MNLF. — John Felix M. Unson