ARMM ecozones planned to legalize barter trading, for halal hub

• Source: http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?&title=armm-ecozones-planned-to-legalize-barter-trading-for-halal-hub&id=137204
• Monday, December 5, 2016

By Carmelito Q. Francisco (Correspondent)

DAVAO CITY -- Special economic zones (ecozones) are being eyed in the island provinces under the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), partly to legalize the continuing barter trading with neighboring countries, said ARMM Gov. Mujiv S. Hataman. “The main purpose in the setting up of these economic zones is for us to be able to legalize barter trading,” Mr. Hataman told a group of journalists Tuesday evening, refering to the exchange of goods, which do not get taxed, through the so-called backdoor areas in the region.

At the senior officials meeting of the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) in Puerto Princesa in Palawan this week, the Philippines identified two potential freeport ecozones within the ARMM, one of them in Tawi-tawi, and the other in either Basilan or Sulu.

Mr. Hataman said the traditional barter trading has been economically advantageous to the three provinces, given their proximity to Sabah in Malaysia and Manado in Indonesia.

“So what must be done now is to set up a legal one by setting up economic zones,” he said, noting that there is an existing policy allowing a private company or a government entity to apply for the conversion of at least 50 hectares of land into an ecozone.

Ishak V. Mastura, ARMM-Board of Investments (BoI) head, said setting up these two ecozones will also provide a focal point for economic development and allow these island provinces to grow faster.

“We hope that our proposal for the establishment of special economic zones in the region, possibly with Malaysian investors, can ease cross-border trade restrictions and provide for more secure cross-border channels,” Mr. Mastura said.

He noted that with the Philippine chairing the BIMP-EAGA next year, it would be an opportune time to give a boost to cross-border trading.

The ARMM-BoI also recently released a statement quoting President Rodrigo R. Duterte as saying that “the establishment of special economic zones and the revival of the BIMP-EAGA trade and investment groupings” are among the pillars of his Mindanao economic development strategy.

POLLOC PORT

Meanwhile, Mr. Hataman said the regional government is also looking into developing the Polloc Port in Maguindanao, which is adjacent to the Polloc Freeport and Ecozone, into a hub for halal products.

“It is always credible if a Muslim place becomes a halal hub... because of the belief that the locators process their products in adherence to the halal rules,” he said.

Halal is an Islamic practice that mandates adherence to lifestyle regulations, not just in food processing.