Reduce cost of shipping Mindanao products to Manila, exec urges

ONE of the consultants of the Mindanao Development Authority (Minda) on Wednesday noted that the exorbitant shipment cost of products from Mindanao to Manila is one of the points that the government must address to push economic growth in Mindanao.

Speaking during the weekly Club 888 Media Forum, Rafael Evangelista, senior consultant of Minda told reporters that lowering the cost of shipping Mindanao products to Manila will play a vital role in a bid to spark local producers.

Evangelista said it is even more expensive to send cargo from Bangkok, Thailand to Manila than those from Mindanao.

"That was already been raised during the two fora," Evangelista said referring to the Mindanao Development Forum (MDF) and the Philippine Development Forum (PDF) that were held recently in Davao City.

Both fora focused on the development of Mindanao, economically and politically in a bid to achieve the government's inclusive growth.

Evangelista said infrastructure projects that will improve the transportation especially in Mindanao was among the 15-Point Priority Mindanao Development Agenda presented by Minda during the two-day PDF and were subsequently considered.

These development agenda will be included in the government's four of the five Cabinet clusters including the Economic Development Cluster, Human Development and Poverty Reduction Cluster, Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation, Good Governance and Anti-Corruption.