Autonomous Region Muslim Mindanao News April 2018

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Autonomous Region Muslim Mindanao Archived News
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Wars of ancient history were about possessions, territory, power, control, family, betrayal, lover's quarrel, politics and sometimes religion.

But we are in the Modern era and supposedly more educated and enlightened .

Think about this. Don't just brush off these questions.

  • Why is RELIGION still involved in WARS? Isn't religion supposed to be about PEACE?
  • Ask yourself; What religion always campaign to have its religious laws be accepted as government laws, always involved in wars and consistently causing WARS, yet insists that it's a religion of peace?

WHY??

There are only two kinds of people who teach tolerance:
  1. The Bullies. They want you to tolerate them so they can continue to maliciously deprive you. Do not believe these bullies teaching tolerance, saying that it’s the path to prevent hatred and prejudice.
  2. The victims who are waiting for the right moment to retaliate. They can’t win yet, so they tolerate.

Maguindanao peace scholarship program produces first lawyer

By John Unson (philstar.com)

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines — The more than 5,000 scholars of the provincial government of Maguindanao are euphoric at the program's first lawyer.

Faizah Gladys Kadon-Tejero, 28, graduated from law school with the help of the Maguindanao Program for Education and Community Empowerment, or MagPEACE, which Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu started about seven years ago.

Mangudadatu told reporters Monday he proceeded to Davao over the weekend to personally congratulate Kadon-Tejero, who works at the office there of the Commission on Elections.

Facebook walls of thousands of MagPEACE scholars have been flooded since last week with greetings for Kadon-Tejero and their principal benefactor, Mangudadatu, whose office is funding their college education.

"Year 2018 is a record year for us because it is the year that MagPEACE produced a lawyer. It has produced so many teachers, a veterinarian and a graduate of a medicine course in recent years and, hopefully, engineers in the coming years," Mangudadatu said.

The MagPEACE was launched by Mangudadatu, now in his third and last term as governor, to complement the normalization agenda of the government’s peace processes with the Moro National Liberation Front and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The governor has even been offering college scholarship slots to children of members of the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters as a viable solution to the poverty and underdevelopment besetting Moro communities.

Many of the MagPEACE scholars are now working in government and non-government organizations involved in peace-building programs in impoverished areas.

Mangudadatu had told President Rodrigo Duterte in public, during an April 25 presidential sortie in Buluan, capital town of Maguindanao, that none of the professionals MagPEACE has produced keep firearms in their homes and workplaces.

Peace activists said Monday they were happy too with the admission to the Philippine Bar of Kadon-Tejero, who is of ethnic Maguindanaon descent.

Bobby Benito, director of the Regional Reconciliation and Unification Commission-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said education is a good remedy to violent religious extremism now plaguing many areas in Southern Philippines.

Maguindanao is a component area of ARMM, which also covers Lanao del Sur, also in central Mindanao, and the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

“We are happy that we in the province have this MagPEACE, which can address so many community problems caused by illiteracy,” said Benito, also a Maguindanaon.

Sandra Siang, president of the Kutawato Muslim Business Chamber, said he wants MagPEACE to also focus on business and entrepreneurial courses to sustain Maguindanao’s now being ARMM’s most attractive investment hub.

Records from the Department of Trade-ARMM and the Regional Board of Investments indicates that Maguindanao got the “lion’s share,” more than half, of about P20 billion worth of investments poured into the autonomous region by domestic and foreign investors in the past eight years.

“We need more professionals in the field of commerce and trade in Maguindanao. That is so necessary. The more, the better for the province,” said Siang, whose organization is also involved in various programs supporting the Mindanao peace process.

Mangudadatu said he will consider Siang’s suggestion.

“We in MagPEACE are always open to adjustments and expansion of our thrusts,” he said.

Invention program reaches Tawi-Tawi youth

(S&T Media Service, BusinessMirror)

TAWI-TAWI—The youth have fresh minds that are creative and are ideal starting ground for inventors. To harness this important human resource, the Invent School Program (ISP) expanded its services to borders unusually reached through its recent first seminar-workshop in Mindanao State University-Tawi-Tawi College of Technology and Oceanography (MSU–TCTO), Bongao, Tawi-Tawi.

ISP, one of the leading programs of the Technology Application and Promotion Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-Tapi), is designed to open the young minds of students as a starting ground for young Filipino inventors.

In collaboration with DOST-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), Provincial Science and Technology Center (PSTC)-Tawi-Tawi, and MSU-TCTO, the ISP organized two sets of seminar-workshops for college and high-school students.

“The first ever ISP in Tawi-Tawi is a milestone for the program having reached the southernmost part of the Philippines. We are very privileged to be given the opportunity to speak before the Tawi-Tawi people,” said Atty. Marion Ivy D. Decena, division chief of Invention Development Division of DOST-Tapi.

A total of 44 college students and 49 high-school students showcased their creativity and inventiveness in tackling the pressing problems in Tawi-Tawi and boosting the province’s promising natural resources and wealth.

The platform serves to stir the youth’s ingenuity by stimulating their interests on techniques in developing creative and inventive knowledge that is crucial in invention and prototype development.

“The old pedagogy should be replaced with more interactive approach to bring more learning to the students, and ISP is necessary to change this pedagogy,” said Dr. Annabel Wellms, office in charge, Office of the Chancellor of MSU-TCTO.

ISP’s goal is to bring the assistance closer to the Filipino youth by bringing the program all over the regions in the country.

Engr. Elizabeth I. Garcia and Anna Liza B. Saet from DOST-Tapi served as resource speakers in the five-day seminar-workshop.

“ISP will always serve as a platform in equipping our future engineers and scientists, who will become the very foundations in building our great nation,” Saet said.Moreover, PSTC-Tawi-Tawi Director Ibnotalib J. Nasirin commended DOST-Tapi’s efforts in prioritizing the province, as the bold step serves as a springboard to hone students in ARMM.

ARMM GRDP growth rate hits high 7.3% in 2017

By Noel Punzalan (PNA)

COTABATO CITY -- The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) gross regional domestic product (GRDP) growth rate peaked at 7.3 percent in 2017 compared to a dismal 0.4 percent in 2016 -- the highest economic growth rate so far in the region's history.

ARMM's record-breaking GRDP also surpassed the national economic performance at 6.7 percent last year.

The unprecedented performance, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), has put the region at sixth place among 17 regions in the country, overtaking other fast-growing economies nationwide.

PSA noted the region's recovery in the agriculture, hunting, forestry, and fishing sectors as contributory factors for the region's economic performance. It registered a 15.5 percent growth from a mere 4.3 percent in 2016.

ARMM is predominantly agricultural, with a 56.4 percent contribution in the region's economy.

"The GRDP is a tool to measure the economy of each region. It covers the value of goods and services offered in the region," PSA-ARMM Director Razulden Mangelen said.

GRDP measures the goods and services produced in every region of the country. It is the basis for analyzing the regional distribution of the country’s Gross Domestic Product, including the industries and factors that contribute to the regional economies.

National Statistician Lisa Grace Bersales lauded the ARMM government's effort to provide accurate information at the right time. "In behalf of the PSA, I congratulate the ARMM for the great economic performance and for helping us advocate for the right information," Bersales said. "Now, change is also being felt in the ARMM," she added.

ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman noted that the region's economic growth rate is truly remarkable in the ARMM's history since its creation. "The once deemed impossible goals now became possible. I am happy because I will be leaving a legacy to the region before the transition of the Bangsamoro government,” Hataman.

Hataman said when he assumed office in 2011, the ARMM recorded a low economic growth rate of negative 0.3 percent. The fishing subsector also showed remarkable growth in 2017 from negative 8.7 percent to 4.5 percent.

The ARMM remains the largest fish producer in the country with reported fisheries production of 4.3 million tons, and a seaweeds volume of 4.7 million tons in 2017.

PSA-ARMM also noted the improved performance of the industry sector, which jumped to 10.3 percent from 5.7 percent. This covers mining and quarrying, manufacturing, construction, and electricity, gas and water supply.

Growth drivers in the region also included the service sector, which improved to 9.6 percent from 8.2 percent. Also referred to as the tertiary sector, it covers businesses that engage in transport, storage, and communication; trade and repair of motor vehicles, personal and household goods; financial intermediation; real estate, renting and similar business activities; public administration and defense; compulsory social sector; utilities; and other services.

In 2016, the region's economy rebounded after a slower growth during the previous year.

It posted positive 0.3 percent from negative 0.4 percent in 2015. ARMM covers the cities of Marawi and Lamitan, and also the provinces of Maguindanao, Sulu, Tawi-tawi, Lanao del Sur and Basilan.

PRRD leads launch of Balik Baril program in Maguindanao

By Noel Punzalan (PNA)

BULUAN, Maguindanao -- President Rodrigo R. Duterte led on Wednesday the launching of the province-wide Balik Baril program that was highlighted by the surrender of some 900 loose firearms presented before him at the town’s gymnasium here.

The firearms were collected from civilians of the province’s 36 municipalities through the intercession of the local government units the past three months. In his speech before province officials and a crowd of 1,000 at the jam-packed gymnasium, the President cited the importance of peace and problem settlements sans the barrels of guns.

“Ngayon, kung wala kayong paniwalaan. Wala talagang pag-asa,” the President said. “If you don’t believe in the national leadership and to think I’m one of you o sinong paniwalaan ninyo? ‘Di ang last recourse kung hindi tayo magkaintindihan (ay) armas. Anong maibigay niyan sa pamilya mo?” he added.

“Come to think of it. Ma-edukar mo ba ang pamilya mo diyan? Can you educate them using your gun? And you plant --- the livelihood, gamitin mo ‘yan. Ako, alam ko yung Moro insecurity,” the Chief Executive emphasized. The President noted that no one wins in war or violence, “Wala naman nananalo hanggang ngayon. O ‘di bakit hindi na lang kayo makinig?” he said.

Duterte said once the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) would be passed, he would proclaim the entire island of Mindanao as a land reform area. The BBL is seeking the establishment of a proposed new autonomous political entity known as the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, replacing the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

“So let us fast-track the passage of BBL. I am promising you it would be passed before May (this year),” he said.

“I said I will proclaim the entire Mindanao, almost, as a land reform area,” he added.

While here, the President also led the symbolic awarding of livelihood assistance packages to former rebels and their families with the assistance of Maguindanao Governor Esmael Mangudadatu.

Mangudadatu, for his part, has sought the help of government line agencies, local and international non-government organizations, serving Maguindanao to compliment the Balik Baril program aimed at retrieving unauthorized guns in conflict-affected areas of the autonomous region.

Aviation school proof of economic growth

By Edwin Fernandez (PNA)

COTABATO CITY -- The mayor here regarded the entry of an aviation school as an indication of the city’s growth.

Mayor Frances Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi met on Tuesday with executives of Aviation Technical School of Cotabato (ATSC) and regarded such development as proof of local economic growth.

The ATSC is the first and only aviation school in Central Mindanao that includes this city, the provinces of Maguindanao, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Guiani-Sayadi was very upbeat upon learning about the progress of aviation school, which has produced graduates now working in airline companies in the country.

She said she was thrilled to learn about ATSC operations and how it can produce world class graduates in the coming years.

Apart from being an aviation school, the ATSC also provides technical courses such as Associate in Aircraft Maintenance Technology and Associate in Aviation Electronics Technology.

The school started its operation in 2013 and has grown to have good association with the airline industry and airports around the country.

“The ATSC is already TESDA Accredited and is planning to offer more courses this year, including Cabin Crew Training,” Guiani-Sayadi said.

During Tuesday’s meeting between the city mayor, the president of ATSC Michael Mustapha and a Malaysian investor who is one of the school's directors, Guiani-Sayadi has committed to provide scholarship to future deserving students of the ATSC and to become partners in promoting the aviation industry, not only in Cotabato City, but in its neighboring provinces as well.

With the anticipated construction of a Technical Training School, to be donated by a group of Chinese investors to Cotabato City, the local government and the ATSC will also be forging a partnership in managing the aviation institution.

"I am excited on the future of the school. It is both an honor and an opportunity for Cotabato City to have ATSC,” she said. “And the city government is ready to extend its helping arms especially to institutions that will help us shape the future of our next generation."

With the growing demand in aviation professionals all around the world, it is highly possible that more and more Cotabateños and other young ones will be interested in taking aviation courses. Accordingly, aircraft mechanics are the third highest paid in the world in the field of aviation, trailing behind pilots and air traffic controllers.

Mustapha said being an aviation professional himself, he has already seen and experienced the vast opportunities that await future aviation professionals and Cotabateños have a high potential of making it in the global arena.

"It has been a gruelling journey for me as I started to build up a name for the school. But I know that all the hardships will be worth it because I believe in the potentials of young Cotabateños," Mustapha said.

The school offers aviation courses at a much cheaper cost as compared to other aviation schools in the country.

Meanwhile, Consul officials from Malaysia were also present during the meeting and were impressed as the lady chief executive shared about the current situation of Cotabato City where investments are high and the peace and order situation has remarkably improved.

With this, they also expressed their willingness to solicit from a Malaysian education investment entity support to ATSC.

“This confidence that foreign investors have is proof of Cotabato City's dynamic growth and the security that its local government provides for its people,” Guiani-Sayadi said.

Cotabato City is not part of ARMM but it hosts the regional center and most of the ARMM’s regional offices.

DepEd vows to help improve ARMM Palarong Pambansa athletes

(Rappler.com)

TUGUEGARAO CITY, Philippines – The Department of Education intends to bring trainers who will assist athletes of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), to improve the region’s performance in the Palarong Pambansa.

Tonisito Umali, DepEd Undersecretary for Legislative Liaison Office, External Partnerships Service and School Sports, noted ARMM’s performance in the annual games has not been improving.

The region bagged only three medals in this year’s Palaro in Ilocos Sur. Tricy Bumatay and Kyla Cansandra Lacson took home bronze medals in badminton doubles girls elementary while Katrina Kaye Santos won bronze in wrestling cadet girls 48 kgs.

The team did not surpass its medal haul last year of one gold, four silver, and four bronze medals.

ARMM retained its rank from in 2017 at 17th place. In 2016, it landed second to the bottom spot from then 18 regions.

The region was 14th place in 2015, 15th place in 2013, and 13th place in 2009 and 2008, based on data released by Palaro officials.

Umali said DepEd will coordinate with the ARMM regional secretary and regional supports officer for the planned intervention.

“Medyo hindi po nag-iintervene ang central sa [kanila] kasi yung concept ng autonomy eh. (Central has not intervened because of the concept of autonomy.) They have their own DepEd Regional secretary, they have their own regional program consistent with the concept of autonomy; but be that as it may, I’ll tell you: I’ll intervene in the ARMM,” Umali said.

“That’s the first step. You train your coaches so that the coaches who will train the students will know what they need to do. Then you train your officiating officials so that people who will manage the tournament who will say in basketball [that] a foul is a foul,” he added.

Further, the official said the agency will later lead a special program for ARMM. He said this will allow the region to identify its best players for the multi-sporting event.

Maguindanao to hold job fair

By Noel Punzalan (PNA)

COTABATO CITY – The provincial government of Maguindanao is set to host a big jobs fair in Buluan town on April 26–27 where young and energetic jobseekers are urged to apply and be employed under ASA Philippines Foundation that is looking for 500 microfinance officers (MFOs) in the province alone.

Monina Macarongon, provincial human resource office chief, said Thursday the jobs fair will help unemployed constituents get hired and be part of thousands of other Filipinos working with the foundation.

She said officials and personnel of the organization from Manila will visit Buluan on the scheduled two-day event to conduct the jobs hiring that will be held at Lumpingan building near at the satellite office of the provincial capitol.

The ASA group is looking for thousands of new MFOs that will serve as frontline workers of their operations.

“A total of 500 slots were allocated for the people of Maguindanao,” Macarongon stressed.

ASA Philippines is a non-profit, non-stock corporation specializing in microfinance. Its first branch was set up in Camarin, Caloocan in 2004 before expanding nationwide.

The group caters to some 1.5 clients called micro-entrepreneurs across the country.

Applicants should be 21 to 28-years-old who are willing to work with poor people and have an academic background of at least 72 units completed at any colleges.

Macarongon said residents of Maguindanao are preferred but non-residents could also apply. Further, she said that applicants should be non-smokers, non-alcoholic and no gambling vices as well as willing to work outside their towns.

Shortlisted applicants will undergo interview before they will be asked to submit required documents for final approval. Hired applicants will have above minimum wage package with Social Security System, Pag-IBIG Fund, and PhilHealth benefits; and also transportation allowances apart from free accommodation and use of basic utilities.

Also, hired applicants will be provided with service motorcycles, annual salary increment and medical assistance in case of work-related accidents.

ARMM helps former rebels return to normal life

By John Unson (philstar.com)

BASILAN, Philippines — The Abu Sayyaf in this island province only has three commanders now, all hesitant to surrender the way more than 200 followers did in recent months due to criminal cases they face in courts.

The followers of the three Abu Sayyaf leaders --- Radzmil, Abdullah and Furudji --- surrendered through the joint efforts of Lt. Gen. Carlito Galvez Jr., chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Brig. Gen. Juvymax Uy of the 104th Brigade and the Regional Peace and Order Council-Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Galvez was commander of the Western Mindanao Command, which has jurisdiction over military units in the autonomous region, before President Rodrigo Duterte designated him AFP chief.

More than a hundred of the former Abu Sayyaf militants not wanted for any criminal offense appeared at the headquarters of the 4th Special Forces Battalion in Barangay Cabunbata in Isabela City in Basilan on April 17 to grace the joint launching by the ARMM government of the Program Against Violent Extremism, or PAVE.

The PAVE is supported by Galvez and Uy and the provincial government of Basilan and all of its constituent-municipal local government units in the province.

Hataman said Saturday he is optimistic Galvez can help the ARMM get the support of the Department of Justice in working out the speedy litigation of pending cases against Basilan-based Abu Sayyaf militants for them to have a chance to start life anew as peaceful Filipino citizens.

“In PAVE, we don’t give special treatment to Abu Sayyaf members who are being prosecuted for criminal offenses. It is always emphasized to those whose surrender are being secured by local officials and community elders that if there are cases against them, only the court has authority to either convict them, or exonerate them. They should have their day in court,” Hataman said.

Functions and powers of the DOJ and the judiciary are not devolved to ARMM, which has a regional charter, the Republic Act 9054.

The PAVE is being complemented by the 104th Brigade and its component-units, the 74th, the 64th and the 18th Infantry Battalions and the 4th Special Forces Battalion with periodic humanitarian missions benefiting marginalized communities.

In Basilan’s Sumisip town, which is under the 64th IB, soldiers and municipal elected officials are cooperating in domestic socio-economic and educational programs meant to prove to Abu Sayyaf members and supporters the ARMM government’s sincerity and readiness to reintegrate them into mainstream society if they decide to surrender and pledge to reform for good.

“There are only few of them now in Sumisip. They move around only in four small areas now, so mobile because our soldiers keep chasing them with the help of barangay tanods and members of the Citizens Armed Forces Geographical Unit,” said Lt. Col. Philip Fagel, 64th IB commander.

One of those present in the April 17 launching of the PAVE was an 11-year-old child, Tariq, who worked as courier of improvised explosive devices the Abu Sayyaf detonated in selected targets.

Officials gifted him with a new bicycle to hasten his rehabilitation, now being facilitated by experts from the ARMM’s social welfare department.

Tariq said he is apprehensive of possible retaliations by families that suffered from Abu Sayyaf atrocities.

“I want to live a normal life now,” he said in Yakan dialect.

Hataman and Army officials in Basilan said Saturday relatives of still active Abu Sayyaf leaders Radzmil, Abdullah and Furudji have been sending feelers since early this year purporting that they are trying to convince them to surrender.

“Another problem is that while they don’t doubt PAVE’s objectivity, they are aware that this is a regional program of ARMM and is distinct in stature and scope if compared to the national government’s fully institutionalized amnesty and reconciliation program for members of the New People’s Army,” said a public school principal in Basilan.

The long-wanted Radzmil and Furudji are both from Sumisip while Abdullah hails from Barangay Dugaa in Tuburan.

Abdullah’s group was implicated in the roadside bombing that nearly killed the mayor of Basilan’s Tuburan town, Dorie Kalahhal, about two years ago.

Galvez said one reason for the surrender in batches of Abu Sayyaf militants in Basilan is the ARMM’s construction in the past five years of dozens of concrete farm-to-market roads that connected hostile areas to town centers and made Abu Sayyaf lairs so accessible to military armored combat vehicles.

Galvez said he will do his best in helping put up an institutionalized reconciliation program for Abu Sayyaf and other Islamic State-inspired militants, with Hataman’s PAVE initiative as baseline platform.

“We have a national chief executive, President Rodrigo Duterte, who is tough on criminals and enemies of state, but has a kind heart for rouge sectors wishing to live in peace under Philippine Constitution,” Galvez said.

Uy, commanding officer of the Basilan-based 104th Brigade since February 2018, recommended the formulation of programs meant to attract IS-inspired militants to the fold of law based on prevailing domestic socio-economic and political settings in provinces where they operate.

“We cannot import programs from outside. We have to consider that some of these militants became militants because of poverty and underdevelopment, or perhaps because they were persecuted by political leaders, or perhaps as religious adventurism,” Uy said.

Uy said reconciliation through community-building and humanitarian interventions are the best means of addressing violent religious extremism now plaguing many southern areas.

“The military in Basilan shall always exhaust all peaceful means of addressing these threats, in coordination with local officials, barangay leaders and the police. Use of military might shall only come after all peaceful means of addressing each problem had been explored. Use of force shall come only as last and final option,” Uy said.

Maguindanao inmates get medical assistance

By Noel Punzalan (PNA)

COTABATO CITY -- The provincial government, through its Peoples' Medical Team, conducted Wednesday a free medical mission to all 289 inmates of the provincial jail facility situated at Pedro Colina Hill in this city.

Headed by Provincial Budget Officer Lynnette Estandarte, the medical team checked on the health status of inmates followed by consultations with four doctors.

Cough, fever, cold, high blood and tooth decay were among the common health problems affecting the inmates.

Of the total, 282 were given medicine and vitamins, while 65 others underwent various dental operations.

After the four-hour medical mission, the team also provided free lunch to the detainees and jail personnel.

“Thank you very much to the medical team, especially to Governor Esmael Mangudadatu, for although we have not seen you in person, we feel your services, especially to us here in the detention who have various cases,” said Bernard Sison, inmate at Cell No. 7.

Sison was locked up in provincial jail since 2004 for a rape case. He had witnessed the life inside the three-storey narrow jail building for 15 years now.

He said “illness is inevitable” inside the 45-year-old government facility adding that there were times that the facility is overcrowded that made them easily get sick.

The jail facility, with a capacity to cater 300 detainees, was built in 1973 when Cotabato City was then the seat of the undivided Cotabato province aptly referred to as the “Cotabato Empire”.

The original set-up of the province was subsequently divided into Maguindanao, Sultan Kudarat and North Cotabato. By then, this city was detached from Maguindanao province making it independent and placing the jail facility on wayward site that currently brims with dense civilian residential houses.

In 2016, the provincial government began construction of a modern rehabilitation and correctional facility worth PHP50 million in Buluan, Maguindanao. The new jail facility, which can accommodate over 1,000 inmates, is expected for completion by September this year.

The governor said the modern correctional facility, together with its reformative amenities, was conceived with utmost consideration for human rights protection.

“The detainees are also human beings like us. They are entitled to services and provisions with which they can reform and rejoin their communities as good citizens,” Mangudadatu said.

Only last week, provincial government personnel led by Maguindanao Administrator Abdulrakman Asim, conducted ocular and inventory inspection to ensure safekeeping of inmates and decent quarters at their old jail building here.

Asim also ensured that food, water and clothing of the inmates were in compliance with established United Nations standards.

ARMM okays P1-B integrated cacao project

By Edwin Fernandez (PNA)

COTABATO CITY -- The Regional Board of Investments of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (RBOI-ARMM) has approved a PHP1.016 billion integrated cacao plantation project in Barangay Nuyo, Buldon, Maguindanao.

On Monday, the board unanimously approved the registration of ChocoInvest Corp. for the undertaking of the project.

Lawyer Ishak Mastura, RBOI chair and managing head, said the project would help the country achieve its target of 100,000 metric tons (MT) cacao production by 2020.

Mastura also said the project would support the government’s “Cacao Double Up Program” in line with the Philippine 2020 Cacao Challenge, which aims to address the very low supply of about 10,000 MT or 80 percent short of the average local consumption demand of 50,000 MT annually (Cocoa Barometer 2012).

Cacao growing and production, he said, is labor-intensive, thus providing more livelihood and jobs in the rural areas, especially in Buldon.

“ChocoInvest will be granted with fiscal incentives, such as income tax holidays for six years, as well as other incentives being provided by the government upon the start of its commercial operations,” Mastura added.

Cacao, also known as the “Food of the Gods” or the “Tree of Love”, is the main ingredient in making chocolates expanding its application to food, beverage, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals.

Carlos Vargas, ChocoInvest chief executive officer, said the project is a joint venture between the company and the Balatawan Farmers Producers Cooperative, which is composed of former Moro rebels.

Vargas was inspired to pursue the project with the group whose members have laid down their firearms in an amnesty program under previous administrations.

“The group has decided years ago to stop the conflict and engage instead on a war against poverty,” he said.

The project will initially start with a 20-hectare model cacao farm that will eventually expand to a total of 1,750 hectares or more, intercropped with coffee, banana, coconut and other cash crops.

Aside from the domestic market, major markets are Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Australia, and the European Union.

In a statement, ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman said the project is very relevant and a result of peace efforts since it involves rebel returnees, who are now active members of society and partners in development.

"Clearly, the government’s multi-pronged strategy to prevent marginalized communities, particularly among the Bangsamoro, from being lured into extremism is bearing fruit and it is now those communities that are actively seeking economic opportunities thru partnership with investors,” Hataman said.

“I have witnessed this also in Basilan, my home province, where the Abu Sayyaf laid down their arms in order to start new lives with the economic opportunities offered by both the government and the private sector,” he added.

DepEd-ARMM emphasizes importance of sports for students

By Shahana Joy E. Duerme and Lean Twinkle Bolongon (with reports from BPI-ARMM)

COTABATO CITY (PIA) -- The Department of Education in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DepEd-ARMM) considers the importance of sports in molding the students into better individuals.

DepEd-ARMM Secretary Rasol Mitmug, Jr. said that the department puts significance to sports as another way for students to strive more.

He noted that in line with this year’s Palarong Pambansa in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, the region has 400 student-athletes competing in 21 sports to include arnis, athletics, badminton, basketball, chess, futsal, sepak takraw, softball, table tennis, tennis, volleyball, wrestling, wushu, billiards, archery, pencak silat, taekwondo, baseball, boxing, football, and swimming.

“With this event the students will have the discipline to strive further to achieve their goal which is to win a medal,” Mitmug stated.

Meanwhile, he has raised concern that the training of the players in ARMM are not year-round thus the need to strengthen the support.

Mitmug said that the DepEd plans to introduce a “club system”, which will identify the expertise of each school, as well as “after-school programs”, which will encourage students to train for sports activities.

The secretary sees these interventions as an added support for the athletes so that they will have more time to prepare for the Palaro season.

“I can see the determination of the players despite the challenges they are going through, they are still motivated to continue practicing,” Mitmug emphasized.

Japan allots P970M more for Marawi reconstruction

By Ben O. de Vera (Reporter, Philippine Daily Inquirer)

Japan will finance infrastructure projects aimed at rebuilding war-torn Marawi City through a 2-billion yen (about P970-million) grant.

The grant to rehabilitate and reconstruct Marawi and its surrounding areas will be provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency through an agreement with the Department of Finance.

The program will serve as budgetary support to the projects under the Comprehensive Rehabilitation and Recovery Plan for Marawi. It will mostly cover the infrastructure sector.

Last year, the Japanese government also provided a 2.5-billion yen grant under the Philippine-Japan Economic and Social Development Program, which also included funds for Marawi’s initial reconstruction and rehabilitation.

Early this month, Task Force Bangon Marawi chair Eduardo del Rosario said that the reconstruction of the so-called ground zero, or the area where the fighting was concentrated, will already cost up to P20 billion.

Another P55 billion is needed for the comprehensive recovery of the rest of the city, del Rosario had said.

According to del Rosario, the rehabilitation of ground zero would begin in June, targeted for completion by 2021.

Marawi sisterhood to be signed in May

(KVC)

THE official signing of Memorandum of Agreement for sisterhood between Davao City and Marawi City is eyed next month, an official said.

Davao City Investment Promotion Center Office-in-charge Lemuel Ortonio told SunStar Davao on Monday, April 16, that they are just waiting for the mayor's office announcement of the final date.

Ortonio said they have started to process the papers for the MOA last January after Marawi City mayor Majul Usman Gandamra sent her reply on the letter of intent to sign for a sister city agreement presented and personally delivered by Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio on her visit to Marawi last November 15, 2017.

The Davao City Council on suspended rules last February 20 approved an ordinance granting authority to Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio to sign a Sister City Agreement between Davao and Marawi.

The agreement is executed to promote favorable relations of partnership and cooperation between the two cities. As stated in the sister city agreement, the partnership exchange and development of both cities will be in the fields of tourism, trade, investment, among others, that can benefit both cities.

TESDA courses attract 23,000 trainees in ARMM

By Ali Macabalang

COTABATO CITY – Over 23,000, mostly youth trainees, in the Autonomous Region Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) have signified their interest to undergo upcoming free vocational and technical courses under the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), officials announced over the weekend.

Omarkhayyam Dalagan, TESDA-ARMM director, said the central office conducted a national enrollment campaign for technical vocational education and training (TVET) on Feb. 27 to 28, and discovered the large number of interested residents from the autonomous region.

ARMM covers the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi and the cities of Marawi and Lamitan where high unemployment rate persists due mostly to lack technical and educational qualifications. Dalagan said the TESDA’s upcoming course offerings include food processing, dressmaking, carpentry, masonry, plumbing, computer system servicing, health care services, motorcycle/small engine servicing, electrical installation and maintenance, among others.

Graduates of these courses will undergo competency assessment and certification to determine whether they can perform according to standards required in workplaces based on the defined competency benchmarks. Passers will then be provided with a TESDA National Certificate, he said.

In 2017, TESDA-ARMM trained a total of 26,638 individuals, and assessed 7,297, 87.5 percent of whom were certified as competent skilled workers.

In the same year, a total of 11,153 scholarship slots were awarded by TESDA-ARMM, amounting to over P81 million covering programs under the Training for Work Scholarship Program, Private Education Student Financial Assistance, and Skills Training for Employment Program, ARMM’s Bureau of Publication Information Director Amir Mawallil said.

World Bank recommends free trade zone in Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi area

By Mick Basa (Rappler.com)

DAVAO CITY, Philippines – The World Bank recommended the creation of a free trade zone in the Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi (Basulta) area, which can pave the way for prosperity there.

This was among the recommendations in the bank's "Mindanao Jobs Report," a nearly 100-page study completed in June 2017, and released to the media last Friday, April 6.

The document re-echoed previous suggestions by other multilateral institutions: that accelerating inclusive growth addresses Mindanao's underperforming agriculture and services sector.

But what's interesting in the study is it also laid out specific recommendations for Basulta, the chain of islands in the Sulu Sea east of Sabah.

"With zero tariff and few non-tariff barriers, Basulta could return to a version of the barter trade that made it prosperous in the past," the World Bank said in its report.

The bank describes Basulta as a region with a distinct feature for its dual economy: the traditional rural economy and the shadow economy. The latter, according to the international lender, refers to unregistered economic activities such as smuggling of commodities. Residents in this part of the country have long established trading ties with its neighbor, being once part of a ruling sultanate.

The bank said a free trade zone, where goods are not subjected to usual customs duties, "could improve welfare because basic commodities are cheaper in Sabah."

Another positive impact of the free trade zone, the bank said, could be "the reallocation of scarce government resources to combating illicit shadow economy activities rather than regulating the 'coping' smuggling that Basultans resort to for survival."

Mindanao's economic planning agency, the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), has been proposing a free trade zone in Basulta.

MinDA Chairman Datu Abul Khayr Alonto said this would be part of the Tawi-Tawi Special Economic and Freeport Zone, a long-term government project estimated to cost some P20 billion.

This would be implemented by the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Regional Economic Zone Authority and is part of the Mindanao Development Corridor.

Regularized consular services in Sabah

Also crucial to Basulta's development, according to the World Bank, is a regularized consular service for Filipinos in Sabah.

It said this is important "to help them get better jobs, access social services, and in the process increase remittances to help Basulta stabilize and grow." Remittances sent from Sabah to the Philippines is estimated to reach at least $190 million a year, according to the bank.

Agencies, it recommended, could form a task force to make monthly visits to areas in Sabah where there are sizable numbers of Filipinos. The Philippines does not have a permanent consulate in the Malaysian Borneo due to its claim on the territory.

The recommendation has been taken up last year by Alonto, when he said the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) plans to set up a consular office in Sabah's capital, Kota Kinabalu. But the plan has yet to move forward.

The DFA has announced it would be conducting monthly mobile consular services in Sabah, Sarawak, and Labuan between March and December, though it said the schedules are subject to change without prior notice.

DPWH eyes faster implementation of ARMM projects

(DPWH)

MANILA, April 7 -- In an effort to come up with a more systematic approach in the implementation of infrastructure projects in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) conducts a symposium with DPWH Secretary Mark Villar as keynote speaker in an event held 06 April 2018 at the City Garden Suites, Ermita, Manila.

Sec. Villar expressed his unwavering support to the objectives of DPWH Assistant Secretary Tingagun Umpa, in-charge of ARMM and Special Mindanao Projects in crafting policies and guidelines to strengthen the coordination among the national government, ARMM, and other stakeholders.

“We’ve set the stage for what will be the most ambitious Build, Build, Build program of the national government and not just for the major areas but in Mindanao as well,” Sec. Villar said.

Attended by representatives from DPWH-ARMM led by Regional Secretary Don Mustapha Loong and DPWH National particularly the Regional Directors and District Engineers from Regions 9, 10, and 12, and concerned Project Directors of DPWH Project Management Offices, the gathering is aimed at establishing synergy between DPWH-ARMM and DPWH National in ensuring the delivery of the much needed infrastructure projects for the people.

Sec. Villar also affirmed the national government’s commitment to provide assistance for ARMM in ensuring proper implementation of projects whilst still recognizing the autonomy of the region.

DPWH Undersecretary Emil Sadain who was once assigned as ARMM Regional Cabinet Secretary for four and a half years (January 2012 to June 2015) said that the national government gives high respect and importance to the region with the implementation of major infrastructure projects and other sustainable development programs towards the upliftment of the social and economic well-being of Muslim brethren in Mindanao.

PLDT unit pilots halal microfinancing in Marawi

By MA. LISBET K. ESMAEL

THE financial technology arm of PLDT Group’s Voyager Innovations is ramping up its push for financial inclusion in Mindanao as part of its vision to cover 30 million Filipinos by 2020 by piloting a halal microfinancing program in Marawi.

FINTQ’s digital referral system, called “KasamaKa,” has partnered with a new movement, dubbed as “Tindig Marawi,” targeting to rebuild Marawi City.

In a statement on Monday, FINTQ said it donated P5 million to support the organization’s target to restore businesses and economic activities in the war-torn city.

The amount will be managed by Liwanag ng Kapayapaan Foundation in partnership with local cooperatives in Mindanao and will serve as seed capital to pilot the country’s first digital halal microfinancing initially for 500 displaced micro-entrepreneurs in Marawi City, it added.

“We are one with the government in enabling our Muslim brothers to optimize their full potential. This collaboration with KasamaKA and Tindig Marawi is just an initial step to more capacity-building initiatives leveraging on mobile technology,” said Manuel V. Pangilinan, chairman of PLDT, Smart, Voyager Innovations.

Orlando Vea, Voyager Innovations and FINTQ president and chief executive officer, stressed this was in line with the group’s goal of expanding formal financial services to 30 million Filipinos by 2020.

FINTQ was launched in September last year to provide unbanked and underserved Filipinos with microsavings, microinsurance, microinvestments, and lending products.

Lito Villanueva, managing director at FINTQ, earlier said Filipinos can use their smartphones to access KasamaKa services.

“Using only their mobile phones, users can now apply for a loan, open a micro savings account, buy an insurance product, start with a micro investment, send money to loved ones or pay bills from wherever they are in the country,” he said.

DA-12 launches banner program to help halal food industry

By Noel Punzalan and Edwin Fernandez (PNA)

COTABATO CITY -- The Department of Agriculture (DA) in Region 12 launched on Tuesday the Halal Food Industry Development Program (HFIDP) here, with Agriculture Undersecretaries Eduardo Gonggona and Ranaibai Dilangalen representing Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol.

Halal is an Arabic word meaning lawful or permitted. In preference to food, it is the dietary standard, as prescribed in the Qur’an.

Dilangalen, who hails from this city, said the launching of the program was anchored on Republic Act 10817 otherwise known as the Philippine Halal Export Development and Promotion Act of 2016.

Under RA 10817, DA was mandated to develop the halal industry in the Philippines and enhance the capabilities as well as the global competitiveness of existing and potential exporters of Halal products, processes and services.

Halal industry players and stakeholders are provided with financial assistance through the Agricultural Credit Policy Council, an attached DA agency. Dilangalen, the DA undersecretary for Special Concerns, was designated by Piñol as the DA-HFIDP national focal person.

Last year, the said official led a series of halal roadshows and consultations for DA-HFIDP in every region to prepare the stakeholders in the implementation of this program.

“The DA allocated an initial fund of PHP44 M for the halal extension, support, education, training services, while PHP15 M was intended for the distribution of production support assistance,” Dilangalen told local officials.

The DA-HFIDP is the sixth banner program of DA from the original five programs that included Rice, Corn, High Value Crops, Livestock and Organic Agriculture.

Dilangalen said with the creation of DA-HFIDP, halal food producers in the country will have better opportunities in the processing and marketing aspects.

Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Toto Mangudadatu said the HFIDP launching "is a dream come true for us, since the long wait of our Muslim consumers is finally over."

“We are happy that a specific program for halal food industry was realized under the administration of President Duterte and Secretary Piñol,” Mangudadatu added.

Mangudadatu stressed the need to empower farmers and producers of food and non-food items in promoting the halal industry. He also urged local food and non-food producers in Maguindanao to organize themselves into a cooperative for speedy processing of subsidy from the government.

In February, Piñol and Mangudadatu inaugurated the operation of the country’s first halal hatchery in the provincial capital town of Buluan. Investors in this project said the hatchery can produce 120,000 chickens a month.

The factory, on the other hand, can produce 60,000 dressed chickens twice a week once in full operation.

Peaceful Holy Week observance in Cotabato City, Maguindanao noted

By Noel Punzalan and Edwin Fernandez (PNA)

COTABATO CITY – The martial law in Mindanao has helped the local police and government security sector safeguard the Holy Week activities in the city and its environs.

Senior Supt. Rolly Octavio, city police director, said the observance of Holy Week was very peaceful with no untoward incident reported in all police sub-stations across the city.

“We are happy to report that the city was calm, orderly and very peaceful during the past eight days that police and military were placed on heightened alert,” Octavio said.

He lauded the police force multiplier, the Army, the paramilitary troops and all other peacekeepers for a job well done. “But we remain our alert status because the lawless elements may strike anytime,” Octavio added.

In the area of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division (6ID), the observance of the Holy Week and the whole Lenten season which lasted for 40 days, no major violence was reported, even in the so-called SPMS box.

SPMS refers to the adjoining towns of Shariff Aguak, Pagatin (Datu Saudi), Mamasapano and Datu Salibo in Maguindanao where the outlawed Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters are operating.

“We are glad everyone cooperated during military inspection, during patrol operations,” Capt. Arvin John Encinas, speaking for the 6ID, said.

“We would like to commend the cooperation of the local officials and all stakeholders for helping the military in securing the land,” Encinas said.

The 6ID area of jurisdiction covers the provinces of Maguindanao, part of North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and part of Lanao del Sur.

Following the peaceful and solemn observance of Holy Week, Encinas said the alert status of the Army remains in place as their campaign against loose firearms continue.

Marawi IDPs attempt to enter ground zero anew

By MOH SAADUDDIN

MARAWI CITY: Local residents here who have been displaced for more than 300 days attempted again to enter ground zero to check on their houses five months after it was liberated by the Philippine Army from the terrorist Maute Group allied with the Islamic State (IS).

Lanao del Sur officials released a statement explaining to war victims that they will be allowed to visit ground zero gradually through clustered schedules following strict rules from the national government.

Thousands of residents staged a “peaceful rally” at Lanao people’s park and city hall, a kilometer away from ground zero, urging authorities to allow them to see for once their destroyed pieces of property.

Some of the marchers even attempted to rally forces en route to the May 23 main battle area after an emotional gathering but police and military barred them.

“Artists, politicians and many others were allowed to visit ground zero but why not us?” one of the protesters said.

Civil society organizations joined the civilian gathering to express their opposition to the proposed establishment of an economic zone (ecozone) and a new military camp in the city.

Members of the civilian’s Ranaw Multi-Sectoral Movement said Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Chairman Eduardo del Rosario presented to them the plan to establish the ecozone in Marawi, capital city of Lanao del Sur.

President Rodrigo Duterte along with Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and high-ranking military officials earlier in January led groundbreaking for the new military camp in Moncado Colony, where the old city hall was situated.

Salma Tamano, public information officer, on Friday said there were set schedules for identified residents to be allowed to visit their homes.

She added the schedules divided into Sections 1 to 9 will begin on April 1 until May 10 and residents are urged to follow strict guidelines including reporting firearms and illegal drugs in ground zero during the visit.

Residents should also report suspicious-looking objects such as improvised explosive devices and skeletal remains.

They will not be allowed to get items and property not their own or visit restricted areas.

At the height of the fighting with military airstrikes in the heart of the city, displaced civilians tried to stage a rally in the main battle area but failed.

Maguindanao port yearly profit continues to soar

By John Unson (philstar.com)

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines — The income of the revitalized Maguindanao Provincial Polloc Port, so mismanaged in the past, has soared by dozens of fold in the past four years.

The port, located in Parang town in the first district of Maguindanao, is a strategic gateway to trading hubs in Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, both in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, and to business centers in North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and the cities of Cotabato and Tacurong, all in Region 12.

Documents supplied on Saturday by Hexsan Mabang, port administrator, indicated that the port only earned P695,411 in 2013, not even one-sixth of its P3.6 million collection in 2014.

“There was a tremendous increase in its income from 2013 to 2014 owing to the reforms initiated by the present ARMM administration as part of an effort to make the port become very functional,” Mabang said on Satuday.

The Polloc Port earned P5 million in 2015 and, subsequently, had a total income of P18.7 million from 2016 to 2017.

The office of ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman forged a management cooperation agreement with the Bureau of Customs in 2015 in a bid to hasten the recovery of Polloc Port from its moribund condition that he inherited from carefree predecessors when he got to the helm of the regional government in December 2011.

Functions and powers of the BOC are not among those that the national government has devolved to ARMM as provided for by its regional charter, the Republic Act 9054.

“Despite not having customs and tariff powers, the present ARMM administration is gaining headway in reforming the operation of the Polloc Port,” Mabang said.

The present port management has remitted to the regional treasury P28.2 million worth of wharf fees generated from 2014 to 2017, something unprecedented in the 28-year history of ARMM.

Previous port officials only had more than P500,000 worth of annual remittance to the regional treasury in years preceding 2014.

A printed matrix from Mabang’s office also showed that the past port management only remitted only almost P80,000 worth of customs and tariff fees to the BOC in 2013.

The present ARMM administration generated for the BOC a total of P19.2 million revenues in 2014, the matrix indicated.

“There was a very big leap in collections of revenues due the BOC, from a measly amount collected in 2013 to a very big amount collected in 2014. The collections were remitted promptly to the bureau,” Mabang said.

Government fund transfer documents revealed that the BOC earned in the past four years P282.1 million worth of revenues from the port via its present management, operating under the control of the ARMM regional government.

“Our income records are open to scrutiny by the media or any interested party anytime,” Mabang said.

The present port management had also paid the Bureau of Internal Revenue P4.7 million worth of taxes from 2014 to 2017, about seven times double than the payments facilitated by managers in prior years.

Only three foreign vessels berthed at the Polloc Port in 2013, according to records of the Coast Guard and the Regional Police Office-ARMM.

From 2014 to 2017, a total of 50 large merchant ships flying foreign national flags docked at the Polloc Port to unload merchandise from different Asian states.

Army general celebrates birthday with Maguindanao orphans

By Edwin Fernandez

SULTAN KUDARAT, Maguindanao -- Army Major Gen. Arnel B. dela Vega, commander of the 6th Infantry Division (ID), celebrated his natal day on Wednesday (March 28) in the company of orphans of Maguindanao, describing it as his most meaningful birthday celebration.

Dela Vega spent about two hours with orphans housed at the Markazul Aytam orphanage in Barangay Gang here. It was the second time that he spent time with the orphans on his birthday.

The 6th ID chief said he wanted to inspire the orphans, mostly Maguindanaoans, to push with their studies and earn a degree in the coming years. Their parents either abandoned them or have perished due to violence that transpired in their communities in Maguindanao.

Taking up Arabic lessons, the students are determined to memorize the whole Qur-an as required by the Madrasa. Many dream of becoming religious teachers and become an ustadz or work abroad as a missionary.

Municipal Mayor Shamin Mastura lauded dela Vega’s decision to spend his birthday with the orphans, describing it as an act of gratitude for all the blessings he received as a military officer and as a family man.

Dela Vega, with the help of local officials and peace advocates, distributed food packs, school supplies and books.

“I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all the blessings that the Almighty God has given me. I want to share these blessings with you today,” he told the orphaned students in the vernacular.

“Keep dreaming, help yourselves, keep on pushing yourselves to attain your dreams in life. If you want to be a soldier, in time, all you have to do is to tell us and we will be glad to welcome you in the military service,” dela Vega added.

He challenged the young orphans to share whatever they can, either big or small things, so that a peaceful community could be established in Maguindanao. (PNA)

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