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| Giving Mindanao the attention it deserves - Thursday, March 04, 2010 at 23:46 |
| Written by Marvin A. Tort / Sway WEDNESDAY, 24 FEBRUARY 2010 21:32 Late last week President Arroyo was reported eager to sign into law the proposed Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Act of 2010, the bill passed by Congress last month to pave the way for better island-wide socioeconomic planning. To date, however, it remains uncertain whether the bill has actually been enacted. The MinDA bill’s enactment is significant considering that it covers practically one-third of the country, particularly the Zamboanga Peninsula, Northern Mindanao, Davao region, Soccsksargen, Caraga and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao-Palawan. And given recent political developments on the island, the bill becomes doubly important. For one, it will create a permanent development and socioeconomic-planning agency for Mindanao similar to the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda). The bill’s goals include accelerating the socioeconomic growth and development of Mindanao by encouraging and increasing trade, tourism and investments, and encouraging private enterprise. It also provides for the creation of MinDA as an effective institutional mechanism to address the need for a coordinative and integrative approach for the formulation and implementation of various Mindanao-wide, Mindanao-specific interregional development plans, programs and projects. In addition, the bill targets to promote the active participation of Mindanao and Palawan in the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-East Asean Growth Area, or BIMP-Eaga. And obviously, it is assumed that with economic development coming to the island, then peace and order can follow. And as a strong indication of the government’s intent in pursuing Mindanao development, the MinDA will have its own chairperson, appointed by the President with a Cabinet rank and term of six years, and who will also be the Philippine senior official for BIMP-Eaga and member of the Neda Board. To Mindanao’s luck, Luzon and Visayas do not enjoy the same privilege. But the MinDA bill is just the start. Mindanao’s future success will also depend heavily on what the new president will plan for Mindanao. As noted by Sen. Richard Gordon, one of the supporters of the MinDA bill, “Mindanao has to be developed immediately if only to stop the war out there. There are certain elements in Mindanao that will never be pacified, but there are more reasons to make sure that Filipinos, whether they are Muslim or Christian, are uplifted.” For some time now, Senator Gordon has been talking about certain initiatives that he believes can help boost Mindanao’s economy. His proposed agenda involves major infrastructure development to make Mindanao the food basket of the Philippines, as well as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. He also stresses the need to focus on developing agribusiness and aquaculture; promote tourism in the region; uplift the level of dignity of native Muslims; inculcate in them national pride; and create opportunities for them to end a culture of dependency while ensuring that local officials are made accountable for their actions and that there would be peace and order on the island. Perhaps, Gordon is too much of a dreamer. However, his success in transforming Subic in the early 1990s into the modern economic free port that is now, relying mostly on volunteerism, is enough indication of people’s ability to deal with adversities and to chart their own future. If only they choose to work hard to achieve success. Among Gordon’s more interesting suggestions is the construction of a canal, similar to the Panama Canal, across Pangil Bay. This can help shorten maritime trips to Luzon and Visayas. To date, people and goods to and from Northern Mindanao bound for Southern Mindanao are forced to go around the Zamboanga Peninsula in Western Mindanao. But with the proposed canal, travel time to Southern Mindanao can be reduced significantly. And this canal system can be complemented by the construction of a circular railroad system that will run through General Santos, Cotabato, Cagayan, Davao, Iligan, Misamis and Marawi. The railroad, he says, can allow trains to quickly transport people and cargo to promote trade and industry. In this line, Gordon even filed Senate Bill 2097 to create the Mindanao Railways Corp. Sadly, though, the bill failed to pass before Congress adjourned. An existing institutive already proves the value of quick transportation for Mindanao. Perhaps learning from his experience as Subic administrator and as tourism secretary, Gordon has started the Fruits of Hope program, where farm goods from Sulu and Basilan are flown to Manila to be sold in big supermarkets. This program, he says, can be expanded to include marine goods and other produce. Cotabato has, likewise, shown the way with fruits, rubber, palm and coconut oil. And the model, he says, can be adopted by implementing a massive information campaign to educate farmers on high-value crops like rubber, corn and fruits, and other export winners, and giving them adequate support in growing these products. Another way of promoting Mindanao is through tourism, with the “marketing” person in Gordon pointing to Lake Lanao, Lake Mainit and Lake Sebu as similar to the world-famous Lake Geneva in Europe; the Liguasan marshes as the local version of Florida Everglades; and the beaches of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi just as beautiful as those in Boracay and Bohol province. For someone who is not even from Mindanao, being the native son of Olongapo City in Zambales in Central Luzon, Gordon seems to have a lot of good and timely ideas for Mindanao. If only he can get the chance to implement them. Perhaps Mindanao and the rest of the country can finally benefit from the government attention that the island truly deserves. Source : http://businessmirror.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22243:giving-mindanao-the-attention-it-deserves&catid=28:opinion&Itemid=64 |