Friday, November 14, 2008 World Bank vows P21M for rehab of war-torn areas
COTABATO CITY -- The World Bank has vowed to extend P21 million for humanitarian operations and rehabilitation of areas ravaged by the latest war between the government and the Moro rebels amid accusation that financial aid is being funneled to buy firearms for the Moro fighters.
Danda N. Juanday, executive director of the Bangsamoro Development Agency, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front's (MILF) socio-economic development arm, said the World Bank grant will be used to rehabilitate projects that were destroyed by armed skirmishes between government troops and "rogue" MILF elements headed by commanders Ameril Umbra Kato and Abdullah Macapaar alias Bravo.
The fund would be used to rehabilitate projects damaged in Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur and Lanao del Norte, and not to purchase high-powered firearms for the Moro rebels as reported recently in the media.
In an interview, he clarified the P21-million fund is not yet available but that the BDA and World Bank are still in the process of negotiation for the so-called "second project partnership agreement" that would last for a year.
"Because of the recent developments in the ground, the [bulk of the] fund will be used for humanitarian intervention and not for development projects," he said.
"The agency cannot and will not resort to using the funds other than what is intended for," Juanday said in a separate statement, stressing the claim that funds were channeled to buy firearms for the MILF "was baseless and designed to malign the Bangsamoro Development Agency."
Mohagher Iqbal, MILF peace panel chairman, said the funds poured for conflict-affected areas in Mindanao are being closely monitored by donor agencies, thus "impossible to divert it for arms procurement."
In March 2006, foreign donors launched here the first phase of the Mindanao Trust Fund, with a pledge of $50 million that shall be administered by the World Bank once a final peace accord is inked by the government and the MILF.
The first phase is called MTF-Reconstruction and Development Program and also seeks the empowerment of Moro development workers through trainings in preparation for project implementation once a final peace deal is signed.
Juanday said the MTF-RDP has been snagged by the flare up of hostilities in August but is now functioning again, thus a chance for the BDA to prove that it is worthy of the trust from aid agencies both domestic and international.
He said they expect more projects to be launched by aid agencies in Mindanao that will help war-ravaged communities to move on.
A recent report from the National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said the cost of humanitarian assistance to tens of thousands of internally displaced individuals will reach P605 million.
Some P167.7 million has been extended to the 391,266 individuals or 79,855 families who fled to evacuation centers, the same report said.
The war's total cost of damage to agricultural crops and infrastructure facilities such as schools, bridges and irrigation, among others, amounted to P258.3 million in Northern and Central Mindanao, as well as in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm), it added.
Skirmishes in parts of Mindanao escalated in August after the Supreme Court decided to stop the signing of the controversial memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain.
The ruling prompted disgruntled MILF rebels headed by commanders Ameril Umbra Kato and Abdullah Macapaar alias Bravo to separately attack civilian communities in North Cotabato, Lanao del Norte and Sarangani.
The Bangsamoro homeland deal seeks to include areas outside Armm, giving the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity wider political and economic powers.
The High Tribunal eventually declared the ancestral domain deal unconstitutional. (BSS)
