Foreign investors, telcos eye NPA hotbed in Davao

From the Philippine News Agency (Jun 28): Foreign investors, telcos eye NPA hotbed in Davao

Three foreign investors and the two major telecommunications companies are giving a glimmer of hope for residents of Paquibato district, a known hotbed of communist insurgency in this city.

Three weeks ago investors from the Japanese Oji Paper Company, and Taiwanese and Malaysian agri-industrial firms, visited Paquibato's Mapula and Salapawan villages to explore the possibility of putting up production plants, Lt. Col. Darren Comia, commander of the Army's 16th Infantry Battalion operating in the area, said Wednesday.

Telecommunications firms Globe and Smart, which earlier expressed to Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio that they wanted to set up towers to connect Paquibato to the information highway, have also visited the area recently, Comia said, citing the investors' interest in Paquibato as a positive sign for the area's economic development.

Paquibato, a known lair of the New People’s Army (NPA), has been lagging behind in terms of socio-economic development because of its peace and order situation.

During Wednesday's Armed Forces of the Philippines-Philippine National Police Press Corps briefing at the Royal Mandaya Hotel, Comia said the interior villages of Mapula and Salapawan are key to the government's effort to develop the entire district.

The Army official said that due to its elevation, Paradise Embak has been eyed as an ideal site for telco companies to put up their facilities.

Still, Comia acknowledged the need to further strengthen Paquibato's peace and order condition, noting that this was the investors' main concern.

He said the military remains committed to protecting investments in the area and ensuring that the local government's development agenda is sustained.

Paquibato is now the focus of the city government’s peace and development program after the launch of the Davao City Peace 911, an initiative to bring better "social services, infrastructure, livelihood" and other forms of interventions.

Recently, Comia said the City Engineer’s Office has inspected vital roads for ease of access to Paquibato district, which has 13 barangays -- Colosas, Fatima, Lumiad, Mabuhay, Malabog, Mapula, Panalum, Pandaitan, Paquibato Proper, Paradise Embak, Salapawan, Sumimao, and Tapak.

Earlier, the National Economic and Development Authority’s regional office in Davao vowed to pour billions’ worth of infrastructure projects in Paquibato to help alleviate its residents’ living conditions.

Among the infrastructure projects that NEDA promised is road concreting to provide the people better access to the market and government services.

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1039672