Small town takes big strides in Basilan

Maluso townhall.
A wooden footbridge, dilapidated from years of constant use, once linked the coastal community of Upper Port Holland, Maluso, Basilan. It gradually became perilous to the residents as children frequently slipped and injured themselves especially at night.
Finally, the municipal government replaced the old amenity by constructing a wide, concrete footbridge connecting the coastal shanties, and added 30 units of solar-powered street lamps for safety.
Last October, an elementary school in the Muslim Area reopened after being shut down for nearly five years due to insurgent conflicts. In the early part of the pandemic, RadioEdukasyon was launched as radio-based instruction for continuing education especially in remote areas. The local government, the school board and a local radio station sustained continuous learning in the midst of the lockdowns.
These are but some of the significant accomplishments that have positively contributed to the radical transformation of the Muncipality of Maluso under the remarkable leadership of Mayor Hanie A. Bud.
Upon his assumption to office as the duly-elected mayor of the Municipality of Maluso in 2016, Hanie Bud immediately began to implement program plans and policy directions embedded in the slogan #REBUILD MALUSO, aiming to provide for the growth and development transformation of the Municipality and its constituents.
At the time, Maluso was slow to progress and development despite its strategic location in the Western Basilan group of municipalities and the neighboring Sulu Archipelago. It had once been a vibrant hub for business and trade in the area, but gradually gained the negative impressions of being an Abu Sayyaf's lair and an illegal drug-infested Municipality.
Bud never had plans to enter politics. After studying International Relations and Islamic Studies at the Mindanao State University – Marawi City, he became a professor and taught social sciences an Islamic Studies at the Mindanao State University in Tawi-Tawi.
In 2012, then Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman of the defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao saw Bud's leadership potentials and invited him to join his administration to lead the Regional Youth Affairs of the Autonomous Regional Government. He was later entrusted to assume the position of general manager of the Ports Authority in the entire region. Following his instinct for public service, Bud ran for mayoralty position in 2016 and won. He is now in his third and last term as the Local Chief Executive of the Municipality of Maluso.



