WBA inaugurates radio station

Signing of the deed of donation between donor Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG) headed by it's Executive Director Atty Benny Bacani and the donee Maluso local government headed by Mayor Hanie Bud.

Taberlongan, Maluso, Basilan (October 14, 2019) - The Western Basilan Alliance (WBA) composed of the municipalities of Hadji Mutamad, Lantawan, Maluso, Sumisip and Tabuan Lasa and the provincial government of Basilan inaugurate today their alliance radio station at the new Municipal Government Center, Taberlongan, Maluso, Basilan Province.

The radio facility is a component of the Modeling Inter-LGU Alliance in Basilan (MILAB) Project funded by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and implemented by the Institute for Autonomy and Governance (AIG); while building was constructed out of the development funds allocated by the provincial government of Basilan and the municipal government of Maluso. The WBA 99.1Mhz FM station has a maximum capacity of 2,000 watts, and will broadcast from 8 o'clock in the morning to 5 o'clock in the afternoon, Monday to Friday.

HE Jorge Moragas, Ambassador of Spain to the Philippines reiterates the common heritage and political partnership between Spain and the Philippines and how this translates into meaningful support in Basilan and BARMM that are coming out conflict, like the idea of inter-LGU alliance in pursuit of shared goals.

WBA's lead champion honorable Hadjiman 'Jim' Hataman-Salliman, the provincial governor of Basilan, expressed his idea of forming this development alliance because he believes it is the right time to move away from tge traditional view that development is only about infrastructure. He strongly believes that leaders and their constituencies should view development holistically, and the establishment of this radio station will support social communication and community engagement among the peoples and local governments of the WBA.

Maluso Mayor Hanie A. Bud, on hosting the radio station in his municipality, believes that the radio is still an effective medium of engaging peoples in this part of the world, a test for Maluso in developing sustainable management capacity and reaching out to more people involved and aware of the different projects and activities undertaken by the local governments.

The Sanggunian Bayan (SB) of Maluso also expressed their appreciation about the project through a resolution to the Spanish Ambassador and the Provincial Governor.

PBS visits Maluso for WBA radio inspection

Local officials posing for posterity with the visiting PBS team.

Maluso, Basilan - A team from the Philippine Broadcasting Service (PBS) visits this town today to inspect the local radio facility established under the AECID-funded Modeling Inter-LGU Alliance in Basilan (MILAB) Project for the Western Basilan Alliance (WBA) and turned over by the Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG).

PBS Director General Giovanni Aportadera Jr headed the visiting team and includes its accreditation committee. The purpose of the visit was to sign the memorandum of agreement (MoA) for the accreditation of the local WBA 99.1 FM radio station. PBS is facilitating the radio station registration with the National Telecommunication Commission (NTC).

Mayor Hans Bud of Maluso impressed on the visiting PBS team the improved security situation in the province through the leadership of PGov Jim Hataman and the cooperation of local officials. He also shared with the team the infrastructure support the locality received from the defunct ARMM and how this jumpstarted great improvement in the road network and local governance.

Also present in receiving the PBS team was the local legislature headed by very supportive Vice Mayor Al Yasin and his energetic Sangguniang Bayan (SB) councillors.

The WBA and PBS are currently cooperating in the on-going WBA Training on Basic Radio Broadcasting on October 28-31, 2019, Marcian Garden Hotel, Zamboanga City. This activity is also supported by the AECID-funded MILAB Project and managed IAG.