ARMM inaugurates road leading to Bongao peak

BONGAO, Tawi-Tawi– Residents of Simunul, as well as visitors, stand to benefit from a new access road, which is part of an P80-million infrastructure package, in Brgy. Tubig-Indangan. The road leads to the Sheikh Karimul Makhdum Mosque, a national historical and tourism site.Governor Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) led the inauguration of the access road on Monday, July 3.Included in the project’s P80-million budget is the improvement of Sheikh Karimul Makdum Mosque and the Sheikh Makdum Cultural Center. The project aims at preserving and promoting the cultural and historical significance of the site.Tawi-Tawi Governor Rashidin Matba, Public Works and Highways Secretary Don Mustapha Loong, and Tawi-Tawi District Engineer Toni Kamlan assisted Gov. Hataman in the inauguration rites. Simunul Mayor Bonjing Abdurahman and other ARMM officials were also present during the event.The Sheikh Karimul Makhdum Mosque, the oldest in the Philippines, is a National Historical Landmark as per declaration of the National Historical Commission and is recognized as a National Cultural Treasure by the country's National Museum.Sheikh Karimul Makhdum is an Islamic preacher from Malaysia who arrived in Tawi-Tawi in 1380. From then on, Islam became the faith of the Moro people and has been dominant in the Bangsamoro life and culture, setting the Moros’ identity apart from the rest of the country.Through the ARMM’s regional legislative assembly, a management board was created to manage, preserve and promote the Makhdum mosque, as one of Bangsamoro’s historical landmarks. However, the mosque is currently closed to visitors due to an ongoing restoration and rehabilitation.Aside from the regional government’s tourism development projects in Simunul, it has also implemented roughly P321-million worth of projects in the town since 2012. Among these are the construction of bridges, seaports, flood control and water system.A total of 12 road projects in Simunul worth P191.5 million are being implemented with 64.42% physical accomplishment so far. These projects are part of the ARMM Department of Public Works and Highways’ regular infrastructure program.