Peace deal to blot out oppression

From the Manila Bulletin (Nov 13): Peace deal to blot out oppression

Philippine Muslim rebels will ensure economic gains from this year’s peace agreement are shared evenly to sustain the truce and alleviate suffering in the country’s poorest region.

“Everyone should feel the fruits of peace,” Mohammad Yacob, 44, executive director of the Bangsamoro Development Agency, said in an interview Manila early this week. “We don’t want people to feel they are still oppressed. The only solution to a lasting peace is if you involve communities, make them self- sufficient.”

President Aquino is seeking to create an autonomous political region called Bangsamoro in Mindanao after signing a peace accord with Muslim rebels in March to end a four-decade insurgency. Mindanao is the least developed island in the Philippines as the Muslim rebellion, bandits and private armies deterred investors from tapping resources including about $312 billion in mineral deposits.

Now, there is a plan to set up cooperatives in each village in Bangsamoro to help evaluate investment proposals and manage government support, said Yacob.

Companies including Malaysia’s Felda Global Ventures Holdings Bhd., Del Monte Pacific Ltd., and a group of businessmen from Singapore, have already approached officials of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, he said.

Yacob’s agency manages more than P500 million ($11 million) in projects backed by aid agencies.

LEAST DEVELOPED

The poverty rate in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which was created during a previous attempt at peace, was 56 percent in 2012. That poverty rate is the highest in the country and more than twice the national average. Economic growth averaged 2.4 percent from 2012 to 2013, compared with 7 percent for the country.

There is limited access to basic needs. About 26 percent of children in the autonomous region are in high school, compared with 65 percent in the nation, according to estimates by the Bangsamoro Development Agency. Only a fifth of its households have toilets and about a third have access to clean water.

Mindanao can attract as much as $1 billion in investment after an agreement is reached, the government has estimated. Development of the region, which accounted for almost 15 percent of Philippine output in 2013, is crucial for Aquino’s goal of as much as 8.5 percent annual growth by 2016.

For these targets to be met “there should be equal opportunities for all stakeholders, especially for employment,” said Jonathan Ravelas, chief market strategist at BDO Unibank Inc. in Manila. “Everyone must get involved so expectations are addressed.


The local government must also strike a balance because too much regulation can turn off investors.”

‘NEAR INSTANT’

The Bangsamoro bill being debated by lawmakers states that the Moro Islamic rebels must abandon their pursuit of a separate state in return for more power, revenue and territory. After the bill is passed, a local referendum will determine which other provinces will join the expanded autonomous region.

About P63 billion has been budgeted for public works in Mindanao next year, compared with about 100 billion pesos spent from 2011 to 2014, Aquino said last week during a forum on Bangsamoro.

The government is also offering cash for work, study grants, health insurance and vocational training, he said.

“The early impact of our efforts at peace, stability and fostering a good business climate has been near instant,” Aquino said. Investment in the autonomous region rose to P3.37 billion in January to September, compared with P1.46 billion for 2013, with companies in energy, coconut products, and palm oil planning to expand in Mindanao, he said.

Bangsamoro needs about P220 billion from 2015 to 2016 to build roads and schools, and for livelihood projects, Yacob said. About half the funding will come from the government, while the rest may come from donors including the World Bank and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, he said.

“There is a lot of expectations right now among the Bangsamoro and we have to manage those expectations,” said Yacob. “We are advocating for a just peace, a just economy. We want progress that trickles down to communities and which benefits everyone.”

http://www.mb.com.ph/peace-deal-to-blot-out-oppression/