Davao City – A Project Monitoring and Advisory Group (PMAG) composed of stakeholders, village leaders, local officials, security officials, religious leaders, members of the academe, private sector organisations and relevant government agencies will be organised next week to oversee the planned rehabilitation of the fire-affected areas of Jolo.
The PMAG is patterned after the Infrastructure Monitoring and Advisory Group (IMAG) which was formed by the then Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCO) to oversee and monitor the implementation of government projects in Mindanao.
It is a simple strategy which ensures the involvement of all sectors in critical government projects to ensure its speedy implementation and curb corruption.
I broached this idea to Sulu Governor Sakur Tan, Jolo Mayor Kerkhar Tan and Notre Dame of Jolo President Fr. Ed Santoyo and they all liked the proposal.
Right after arriving from Jolo yesterday, I met with the staff of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) to chart our directions for the planned rehabilitation not only of the fire-affected villages but of the entire town.
Following the directives of President Rody Duterte to show government presence in the troubled island of Sulu which has the second highest poverty incidence in the country, MinDA has identified it as a priority area for its program to address poverty, improve productivity and sustain the peace gains of this administration.
The program will start with the immediate rehabilitation of the three coastal villages of the town where an estimated 1,600 houses on stilts were burned on Feb. 3.
As soon as the MinDA planning staff has completed the draft rehabilitation plan based on the inputs gathered during my two-day stay in Jolo recently, we will immediately go back to Sulu and hold a series of consultations and ground planning.
(Map of Jolo was downloaded from Google map while photos of the meeting with Notre Dame of Jolo officials, Jolo Mayor and Vice Mayor and the site inspection with Gov. Sakur Tan and Maj. Gen. Corleto Vinluan Jr. were taken by the MinDA Media Team.)
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