Thursday, August 30, 2007 Ledesma: Invest in Mindanao By Jun Ledesma Sunbursts
SOMETIME ago I read a piece of a well-respected columnist from a national daily impugning the idea of putting additional investments in Mindanao. Coming from someone of stature his essay can send negative perceptions. I personally would not resent his commentary except that his image of Mindanao is symptomatic of not a few Manila-based journalists and for that matter Metro Manilans. The mind set is that the autonomous region is Mindanao.
Mindanao is not Armm region and neither is it Basilan or Sulu. There is no debate over the fact that billions of pesos had been poured into Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) in the hope that autonomy cold succeed. But billions too had been spent on a bloated administrative bureaucracy that includes friends and relatives and ghost employees. Billions were lost to unimpeded corruption. The Armm coffers had been bilked and yes, you will be surprised that the Commission on Audit could only look as monies go the wrong way.
Before Armm came into being, Professor Nur Misuari, like the rest of us from Mindanao, complained of the isolation of the region from the rest of the country. We say that the centrist government rules as if Metro Manila is the Philippines to the detriment of the development of the region. Until today the disparity is obviously apparent.
Sad to say, however, even as Armm was receiving billions in funds, the autonomous region remains in economic limbo. Part of the plaints of the MILF is that – the continuing indifference of the National Government to the plight of the Moro people. The stark reality moreover argues against that for indeed billions were allocated by the national government to make Armm succeed but then it failed. I do not know whether under the administration of Governor Ampatuan will change that. As of now I personally am not ready to give judgment.
Outside the autonomous region however, we see a different scenario. The economic monitors for example noted a vibrant upward mode in the economy boosted by encouraging surge of productivity. Officials of World Bank’s Industrial Finance Corporation (IFC) are happy with what is obtaining in Mindanao that they now find the region bankable. To dramatize that confidence, IFC established an extension office in Davao City to bring their services closer to small and medium scale entrepreneurs in Mindanao.
It is, therefore, sad that some sectors look at the potentials of Mindanao from a myopic viewpoint. The region can feed the entire country if the government will only invest in additional infrastructures like roads, bridges, irrigation systems and cost-efficient transport system that could ferry our products from the farm gates to the markets in Luzon.
But then I agree to the proposition that if nothing else works, just declare the entire island of Mindanao an export processing zone.
BTW, September 1 is birthday of Governor Dolfo del Rosario. All roads will lead to Tagum City where the friends of RDR are planning to throw a grand party to their come-backing leader. Happy Birthday!
