Government expects creation of the targeted Bangsamoro
autonomous region, a poverty-stricken and war-weary area at present, to
generate economic growth of at least some PHP36 billion annually and about
60,000 jobs.
"That's even only a conservative estimate of
Bangsamoro's possible contribution to Philippine GDP," government peace
panel member and former agriculture chief Senen Bacani said Monday (April 6) at
a Metro Manila forum on updates regarding the government-Moro Islamic
LiberationFront (MILF) negotiations for peace and the region's creation.
He projects peace and stability following the region's
creation to fuel agro-fisheries as well as gas and minerals exploration
activities, stimulating economic turn-around of the area.
"Agro-fisheries will be the biggest job creator
there," Bacani said.
Between PHP100,000 to PHP200,000 investment is needed to
generate jobs in the area's agro-fisheries sector, he noted.
"I think it's possible to generate the projected 60,000
jobs there," he said.
Bacani made the projections, noting conservative estimates
place the Bangsamoro's expected economic growth at about a third of one percent
of Philippine GDP which already ballooned to around PHP12 trillion.
According to government, the target Bangsamoro territory
will still be part of the Philippines
Such territory will cover land mass as well as
maritime,terrestrial, fluvial and alluvial domains and the aerial domain above
it, government noted.
Bangsamoro's core territory will include the present
geographical areas of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) as well as
Baloi, Munai, Nunungan, Pantar, Tagoloan and Tangkal municipalities in Lanao
del Norte province.
The target region will also cover all other
"barangay" (village) settlements in Kabacan, Carmen, Aleosan, Pigkawayan,
Pikit and Midsayap municipalities in North Cotabato province that voted for
inclusion in ARMM during the 2001 plebiscite; Cotabato and Isabela cities as
well as "all other contiguous areas where there is a resolution of the LGU
or a petition of at least 10 percent of registered voters in the area asking
for their inclusion at least two months prior to conduct of ratification of the
Bangsamoro Basic Law and the process of delimitation of the Bangsamoro."
Government also said areas contiguous and outside the
Bangsamoro core territory "may opt at any time to be part of the territory
upon petition of at least 10 percent of the registered voters and approved by a
majority of qualified votes cast in a plebiscite."
Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) is the legislation Malacanang
proposed for the target region that will replace the current ARMM.
Bacani said the target Bangsamoro region will likely
experience, some 10 years after its creation, the full impact of expected
multi-billion peso economic growth.
He based such forecast on developments after past
international conflicts, noting it normally took a decade for private
investments to flow into previously strife-stricken areas.
He said government hopes the real impact of Bangsamoro's
economic growth can be substantial in the next five years with the nearly 50
percent poverty incidence there at present being halved by then.
"We're optimistic that in the near-term, there should
be faster effect in terms of poverty alleviation," he noted.
Public and private expenditures will help bring forth such
poverty reduction, he said.
"Only sustainable livelihood can lift people out of
poverty," he said.
Bangsamoro's immediate impact is possible some two years
after creation of this target region, Bacani said further.
It will take such period for government to establish in
Bangsamoro the infrastructure and basic services needed for this target
region's economic take-off, he noted.
"Government must fill in the necessary gaps," he
said.
Peace talks between government and MILF hit a snag this year
when deadly fighting erupted in Maguindanao province between Special Action
Force (SAF) police commandos and non-State forces during an anti-terrorist
operation.
Forty-four of the SAF commandos were killed in action while
on a mission against terrorists Zulkifli bin Hir alias Marwan, a Malaysian
master bomb-maker, and his Filipino counterpart Basit Usman.
Authorities identified the non-State forces as belonging to
MILF, the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) breakaway group as well as
private armed groups.
At least 17 MILF and four civilians also died during the
fighting.
In February 2013, government and MILF launched the Sajahatra
Bangsamoro Program which is a socio-economic initiatives for jumpstarting
initial dividends of the peace both parties continue striving to achieve.
The program aims to improve health, education and livelihood
of priority Bangsamoro communities and targeted individual beneficiaries
through quick-gestation, high-impact and social protection-type measures.
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) as well
as other government agencies concerned directly implement projects under the
Sajahatra Bangsamoro Program.
Sajahatra was designed to be inclusive so there are
individual IPs and non-Moros as well as areas under this program that are
outside the proposed Bangsamoro core territory.
The government said such areas include Davao Oriental and
Zamboanga Sibugay provinces.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=750772
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