BARMM builds P25-M town hall to better serve Turtle islands

ZAMBOANGA CITY – The Ministry of the Interior and Local Government in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao

(MILG-BARMM) is building a PHP25 million modern town hall tobetter servethe residents of theremote municipality of Turtle Islands, Tawi-Tawi.

Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, MILG minister, said in a

Across the Bangsamoro A3

8 bills introduced for first reading on Monday’s regular session

The Bangsamoro Parliament in a regular session on Monday,Mar.20,hasintroduced eightbills on firstreading, which include, among others these proposed measures are the Bangsamoro Palliative and Hospice Act of2022; statement Saturday that the municipal hall aims to improve the services of local government units and ensure that moral governance is felt even in the farthesttown ofBARMM.

Sinarimbo said distance is not a hindrance in constructing a town hall in such aremotearea.

The municipality of Turtle Islands is located within

Editorial A4 the Sulu Sea at the southwestern tip of the country, at the edge of the international treaty limits separating the Philippines and Malaysia.

“Despite its distance, we areconstructing amunicipal hall for the farthest municipality to ensure that governance is also felt there,” Sinarimbosaid.

The town hall, he said,

ICC tightens the noose

For lack of a better advice, President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. recently announced thecountry’s disengagement from theHague-based International CriminalCourt(ICC). The decision was apparently in reaction to the court’s rejection of the country’s request to suspend the inquiry intotheblood-staineddrug war...

would not only serve as a help desk for the government’s bureaucracy and implement policies for the betterment of its constituents but would alsoprovide symbolic functions in the community.

It will serve as a venue for holding local government business, implementing government services, and conducting publicrelated assistance and ac-

Abroad A6 tivities in offices or council meetingrooms.

Turtle Islands is a fifthclass municipality of TawiTawi with a population of 5,683, as of the 2020 census, and is a protected and natural breeding ground for greenseaturtles.

The municipality consists of six small islands –Taganak, Baguan, Langaan, Boan, Lihiman, and theGreat Bakungan.

Teofilo Garcia, Jr./PNA

PM Sudani: No need for US-led forces in Iraq

Iraqi PrimeMinister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani says the Arab country does not need US-led foreign combat troops on its soil, as the Iraqi forces are fully capable of preserving Iraq’s security after the elimination of the Daesh terrorist group.