Footbridge connects two Tawi-Tawi villages

COTABATO CITY - A 132-meter timber footbridge built recently by ethnic Samah and Tausog villagers in Sitangkai Island at the border of Tawi-Tawi and Sabah has fostered unity among the two groups, whose villages were unconnected in the past.

The timber footbridge was constructed by villagers, most of them relying on deep sea fishing and propagation of carageenan seaweeds, as a community project bankrolled by the World Bank through a conduit, the ARMM Social Fund Project.

“We are thankful to the World Bank and the ASFP for this timber footbridge project,” said Tawi-Tawi Rep. Ruby Sahali, who also has dozens of on-going projects in Sitangkai and other island towns in the province that are funded by the House of Representatives.

The footbridge built the “bayanihan” way by local Samah and Tausog residents traverses dozens of traditional “stilt houses” above shallow sea waters, and connects two villages in Barangay Sipangkot in Sitangkai, touted as one of Tawi-Tawi's most peaceful municipalities.

Villagers that participated in the construction of the footbridge acknowledged having learned the importance of teamwork to hasten the achievement of their development goals as Samah and Tausog communities with different cultures and traditions.

“They are grateful to all the benefactors of the project. It brought them closer together,” said Harry Muhang, municipal facilitator of ASFP projects for Sitangkai.

Muhang said they are also thankful to the mayor of Sitangkai, and the governor of Tawi-Tawi, Nurbert Sahali, for supporting the implementation of the project.