Mindanao 2020 an ‘ambitious’ attempt

SECRETARY Lualhati Antonino, Mindanao Development Authority (Minda) chairperson, admitted it was indeed an "ambitious" attempt to build lasting peace to boost economic sustainability in Mindanao.

“But we are guided (of the Mindanao Peace and Development Framework Plan for 2011-2030) maybe not just for ourselves but more importantly for our future,” Antonino said during the formal launching of said development framework plan on Tuesday at the N Hotel in Cagayan de Oro City.

The unveiling of Mindanao Peace and Development Framework Plan for 2011 2030, also known as the Mindanao 2020, was spearheaded by Antonino and Australian Agency for International Aid (AusAID) Philippines Governance Adviser Sam Chittick.

The Mindanao 2020 is centered on how to push peach and development in Mindanao with various stakeholders from the government, the civil society and the private sector.

It is a holistic, integrative, and multi-dimensional plan that hopes to transform Mindanao into a peaceful, integrated, cohesive, and dynamic island-economy that will be at the forefront of the country’s sustainable development within the next 20 years, Antonino said.

She said the 20-year peace and development roadmap for Mindanao addresses various challenges and opportunities in the island-region not only within the context of securing peace amid a history of conflict but also in terms of harnessing its inherently rich economic potentials for the benefit primarily of Mindanawons.

Antonino even emphasized President Benigno Aquino’s statement that by the end of the present administration’s term, Mindanao would not anymore suffer from power outages.

The finalization of this plan was supported by other concerned line agencies of the government that seek for future growth and peace in Mindanao.

“It desires each of us to absorb and take into our work some (or all) of its recommendations,” Chittick said.

Under the enabling environment chapter of Mindanao 2020, Mindanawons recognized that a highly-reliable and efficient power supply will help accelerate growth and sustain peace in Mindanao.

Over the next 20 years, the plan aims to establish a "reliable, efficient and climate-change immune infrastructure systems in Mindanao" characterized by a "dependable power system that maximizes the use of renewable energy and ensures reliable transmission and efficient distribution of electric power up to the most remote barangays."

To achieve this, one of the key strategies identified in the plan is to formulate a Mindanao Energy and Power Development and Sustainability Plan that sets clear policies and strategies, coherent programs and projects that set the stage for the long-term reliability of power.

MinDA created Mindanao 2020 through a process that took two years in the making. It has engaged the participation government, private sector, non-government organizations, civil society, academe, interfaith groups, women, and youth in the formulation of the plan. (With Liceo de Cagayan University interns Denrie Joy P. Cabungcal, Roselyn P. Paglinawan, and Rosanchu M. Blanila/PIA/Sunnex)