As part of the third founding anniversary of the Bangsamoro Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), the region’s environment office has distributed 18 land titles, 60 seedlings, and environmental compliance certificates (ECCs) to its clients and partners.
BARMM is in the thick of celebrating its anniversary this year with weeklong activities to culminate on Friday.
In a statement Wednesday, Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources and Energy (MENRE) Minister Abdulraof Macacua said the ministry will remain firm in performing its mandate to protect everyone’s environmental rights.
He said 14 of the land titles were granted Tuesday to applicants from Maguindanao, three for Basilan, and one for Tawi-Tawi.
Meanwhile, the 60 seedlings – 30 giant bamboo and 30 Dao trees – were also turned over by the MENRE on the same day to the Office of Chief Minister (OCM) Ahod “Murad” Ebrahim and other offices of the regional government for them to plant and nurture.
The Al-Muzafar Agri-Venture Inc. (AMAVI), a banana producer in Maguindanao province exporting to China, Japan, and the Middle East, has received its ECC on Tuesday, Macacua said.
Macacua said Abdullah Cusain, BARMM assistant senior minister, received the seedlings on behalf of the OCM, while AMAVI compliance officer Jona May Tee and company consultant Abdulrashid Kamag received the ECC for their firm.
He said the MENRE is currently working on the ECCs of other investment firms in the region that have complied with environmental laws of the region and is also set to distribute them soon.
Macacua said one of the MENRE’s mandates is to efficiently manage and administer land-related concerns and matters, manage and protect Bangsamoro forests and wetlands, and ensure the compliance of business sector stakeholders with the existing environmental laws, rules, and regulations.
“As we do that with all of you, we carry the values of moral governance and Al-Khalifa or stewards of this God-given earth,” Macacua said.
More related programs are in the pipeline to be implemented this year, he added.
Source: Philippines News Agency