NORTH COTABATO VILLAGES GET PROJECTS

SIX villages in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato are recipients of P24 million worth of development projects from the government, the provincial Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) office said Monday. Ali Abdullah, DILG-North Cotabato director, said the projects are funded under the Barangay Development Program of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-Elcac) whole-of-nation approach. Abdullah said the projects, handed over the weekend, consisted of four farm-to-market roads (FMRs) and four Level 3 water systems in six villages. “The city government is the first local government unit in the province that has turned over the Elcac-funded facilities to the recipient villages,” he said. The village recipients included Malinan and Gayola for the FMR projects and Sto. Niño and Katipunan for the Level 3 water system projects. Two other villages, San Roque and San Isidro, considered conflict-affected and communist-influenced areas, also received Level 3 water system projects. Mayor Jose Paolo Evangelista said the projects are proof that the government was relentless in providing development in far-flung villages in the city vulnerable to communist New People’s Army (NPA) recruitment. “Peace is vital to a community, and it will be sustained through taking care of the projects the government has given them,” he said. Abdullah said 57 other NTF-Elcac projects were being constructed in other villages of the province. He added each village recipient is entitled to P4 million worth of livelihood and infrastructure projects depending on what the communities need. “The villagers recommend what they need in their communities. They get involved in the process of rebuilding their lives hampered by conflicts instigated by NPA activities,” Abdullah added.