THE Philippine Government is looking into reviving the Sulu and Tawi-Tawi economies through barter trade.
“The National Government also started conducting dialogues also in reviving the barter trade which covers a lot about the socio-economic and political demography of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.” Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) executive director undersecretary Janet Lopoz said during the Mindanao 2030 Peace and Development Framework consultation on Tuesday, July 31, 2018, at Apo View Hotel Davao City.
Lopoz added that through this economic development Sulu and Tawi-Tawi will be able to also strengthen their economic trades in the neighboring countries and island within the Suluwesi region.
“The barter trade will also cover Basilan, Saranggani, and even Santa Cruz,” Lopoz said.
Minda said in a statement that the proposed barter trade will fall under the The Tawi-Tawi Special Economic and Freeport Zone. Through this, the trade route will have a major role in the Bangsamoro areas and the Brunei Darussalam Indonesia Malaysia the Philippine East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-Eaga).
Based on a previous study facilitated by Minda, it has been recognized in the BIMP-Eaga level that a significant portion of intra-Eaga trade is informal trade carried out by native traders primarily from Western Mindanao, using non-convention sized ships.
In another study by Minda an operational model with a pragmatic set of guidelines must be considered in order for a smooth transition from the current system to formal Mindanao.
Currently, an executive order is being proposed for the creation of Barter Trade Facilitation Center within the Tawi-Tawi ecozone.