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Tuesday, October 18, 2005
3 towns to revive trade relations with Indonesia
THREE towns in South-Central Mindanao, called the Jose Abad Santos-Glan-Sarangani Cooperation Triangle (JAGS-CT), are now working hard to renew their traditional trade links with neighboring Indonesia.
Glan Mayor Enrique Yap Jr., JAGS-CT chairman, told reporters that local initiative to restore trade exchanges with Indonesia have gained momentum with the visit last week of Indonesian officials here.
"So far, we are trying to strengthen the comprehensive customs, immigration, quarantine and security (CIQS) services to ensure smooth traffic of people goods and services between JAGS-CT and Indonesia," he said.
The town mayor said their initiatives are paying off despite limited support from the national government.
"Barter exchanges between the three towns and Indonesia have been taking place for a very, very long time. We wanted to formally revive the trade link by institutionalizing our agenda through the JAGS-CT," he noted.
Yap said they are studying the possible waving of local permits to encourage Indonesian businessmen to invest in the area.
Sarangani Governor Miguel Dominguez told reporters during the same briefing that JAGS-CT was an "offspring" of the country's involvement to the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asia Growth Area.
"It's about time that small towns start economic surprise. This is what JAGS-CT's is all about. We want to start creating a free zone in this part of the country through the cooperation triangle," he said.
Dominguez said he told President Arroyo during her visit in Koronadal City last Friday about JAGS-CT's initiative.
The president, according to him, was surprised as it was her "first time" to hear that two regions in the country have embarked on their own initiatives an economic cooperation with a foreign country.
Dominguez and Yap said that President Arroyo ventilated her support to the thrust of JAGS-CT.
Mr. Yap said that at present, there is a "trade deficit" in Indonesia and that the three municipalities, considering their proximity to the foreign country, wanted to fill the gap.
The mayor said they are eyeing to trade not just local goods like coconut, pepper, goat's meat but also other Mindanao products to Indonesia so that other regions in the island could also benefit from the cooperation triangle.
On the part of the Indonesians, they can supply raw materials like wood to the Philippines via the JAGS-CT corridor.
(October 17, 2005 issue)
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