Thursday, September 20, 2007 War damages cited as calls for peace mount
COTABATO CITY -- Two million refugees, at least 50,000 deaths, 535 mosques and 200 schools destroyed, and 35 towns and cities were ravaged in Mindanao in the last four decades brought about by the Moro rebellion.
Professor Abhoud Syed Lingga, executive director of the Institute of Bangasamoro Studies, mentioned the statistics as he joined business leaders in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) in calling on the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to finally forge a final peace pact.
At the recently concluded 6th Armm Business Congress, business leaders asserted that full economic development of Mindanao would just remain a dream if both sides fail to reach an amicable settlement sealed through a binding peace agreement.
"A successful peace process will usher in peace and more business or investment opportunities will be created. Such condition will result in fewer risks and a more predictable business environment and policies," Lingga said.
He noted that continued conflict will slow down economic development in conflict-affected areas.
"It is a disincentive to investments that are needed for jobs generation. In war, infrastructures will be destroyed," Lingga added.
Lingga said that conflict can be used as excuse for lack or inefficient delivery of social services, hampered transparency in running the affairs of local governments, and non-eradication of corruption.
Earlier, he noted that the Armed Forces of the Philippines spent P73 billion for the government offensives against the Moro rebels starting in the 1970, or an average of 40 percent of the AFP's annual budget until 1996 that could have been used to build schools, farm-to-market roads, bridges, and livelihood projects to uplift the economic condition of the autonomous Muslim region.
Datu Haron Bandila, chair of the Armm Business Council, backed the stance of Lingga, saying that Armm's poverty incidence "will be alleviated" with lasting peace reigning in Mindanao.
"We are calling on the government and the MILF to sign a final peace agreement. With that in place, we're confident that more investors will come to the region, thus creating employment," Bandila said.
Peace talks between the government and the Moro rebels were stalled September last year due to disagreements on the ticklish ancestral domain agenda. It was supposed to resume last month but the government peace panel cancelled it to give its member more time to fine-tune its position.
President Gloria Macapagal had issued a statement that negotiations will resume but without a definite date.
She was prodded by Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Bin Ahmad Badawi that the Southern peace process be resumed.
Malaysia is brokering the peace negotiations in the last four years and is leading the International Monitoring Team that checks on ceasefire violations in the south.
Bandila conceded that entry of investors to the autonomous Muslim region has been slow in the absence of a final peace accord.
"Confidence of investors from outside the region is not that high because we don't have a final peace agreement in place. They are investing elsewhere since they feel insecure about the area's peace and order condition," he said.
"That's why we are strongly urging the government and the MILF to amicably settle the Mindanao problem," he reiterated.
Vicente Lao, chair of the Mindanao Business Council, said that war has affected thousands of families and business operations in the autonomous Muslim region.
"Over time, the unstable peace and security situation in Mindanao especially in areas dominated by Muslims have become a national issue that imperils the productivity and competitiveness of business firms in the Philippines," Lao said.
"Generally speaking, this condition hampers the escalation of trade and commerce. Conflict does not only increase the cost of doing business, it also affects revenues as it decreases the purchasing power of the consumers," he added.
