Manila: Former Moro combatants and vulnerable families in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte were among the lucky 50 recipients of a PHP39 million housing project built by the Ministry of Human Settlements and Development (MHSD) in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

According to Philippines News Agency, the MHSD identified the recipients during the National Government - Bangsamoro Government Convergence Program at Army Camp Siongco, Awang, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte on Wednesday.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and BARMM Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua, along with MHSD Minister Zaide Ali, led the ceremonial turnover of certificates of ownership to some of the beneficiaries during the convergence program.

Located inside Camp Darapanan, the former main base of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) transformed into a peace community in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte, the housing project has 50 units, each with three bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchen.

To date, the MHSD has built 6,171 housing units throughout the BARMM as part of its efforts to improve the living conditions of former combatants and Bangsamoro indigents.

Among the beneficiaries was Theng Pasigan, a sexagenarian, who currently drives a tricycle for a living and is a resident of Simuay, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao del Norte. 'I am grateful to the government, to President Marcos Jr., to the BARMM, and to everyone who helped us. This housing project is a great blessing for our poor families,' Pasigan, a former MILF combatant, said, as quoted by BIO-BARMM in its report.

Another beneficiary, Myrah Salam, 67, a widow raising three children, thanked the government for the housing project. 'I am overjoyed because I wouldn't be able to build such a huge house myself,' Salam said in the vernacular.