Basilan holds CRDA Summit on infra, economic development

• Source: http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/1421482252953/basilan-holds-crda-summit-on-infra-economic-development
• Wednesday, December 28, 2016

By Rene V. Carbayas (ALT/RVC/PIA9-Basilan)

ISABELA CITY, Basilan (PIA) – Programs and projects worth billions were proposed at the Summit on infrastructure and economic development on the Comprehensive Reform and Development Agenda (CRDA) for ARMM.

Around 70 stakeholders composed of government agencies, local government units in Basilan, the military, non-government organizations, business and cooperative groups, and some sectors have gathered on December 12 at the Farmland Resort, Lanote in Isabela City to draft proposed infrastructure and economic development programs.

Through workshops, the participants were divided according to sectors on agri-infrastructure development, infrastructure development and tourism, industrialization and job generation, environmental preservation, and industrialization and product export.

Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Lanao del Sur Provincial Director Tarhata S. Mapandi said that the one-day consultation intended to gather programs based on felt needs and aspirations of the Bangsamoro and other people in Mindanao like the Lumads and Christians to put an end to the perennial insurgency issue and poverty problem in conflict-affected areas.

“The Duterte administration recognizes the limitation in government resources to bankroll all the interventions and initiatives being propounded hereof, hence the need to generate support from well-meaning donor agencies and Muslim countries, especially those belonging to Gulf Cooperation Countries in the Middle East,” she said.

In his message, TESDA Director General Alvin S. Feliciano who spoke on behalf of TESDA Secretary Guiling A. Mamondiong, reiterated the intention of the Duterte administration, that is, to exercise inclusive governance where “lahat kasali, lahat bida sa TESDA (everyone is involved, all are protagonists).”

He announced that TESDA is allocating some 15,000 slots for scholarship trainings in Basilan alone.

The national government has tasked TESDA to hold consultations and validation on CRDA programs in conflict-affected areas identified.

However, some participants observed that the one-day summit is not enough for this kind of planning workshop. Some claimed that no substantive output is generated with the limited time for discussion.

Facilitators from the Mindanao State University of Marawi City assured that all the inputs from the workshop will be consolidated into a comprehensive plan for implementation until 2022 poverty incidence in ARMM is envisioned to be reduced from 48.2% in 2015 to 33.1%.