Press Release
December 30, 2009

MINDANAO PEACE NEEDS ECO-SOCIAL DEVT, MORE JOBS--ANGARA

At this month's ratification of the 2010 national budget, Senator Edgardo J. Angara has again reminded that for Mindanao to attain peace and order, an economic-social progress has to be secured for its people. Angara has been calling for a governing body to oversee regional development in Mindanao to tap its vast human and natural resources and as long-term effect, end the political and feudal conflicts in the region.

"During the past administrations, the focus of development in Mindanao had been more on what it can offer and less on what its people can get. Over the past 97 years, there has been no permanent mechanism that looks after the affairs of Mindanao. It is about time that we take care of the region not only in terms of peace and order issues; the manpower and natural resources of the region has so much potential for them to spur further progress for the region," said Angara, Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance.

Angara admitted that Mindanao has degenerated into a compromised land torn by conflict and poverty, lagging behind the rest of the country and suffering from intermittent peace and order problems further widening the economic and social divide between and among the peoples of the region.

Based on figures from the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB), Mindanao, the country's second largest mainland space, is still the poorest of the three island groups in the country, with the highest poverty incidence among the country's major island groups. Its poverty incidence reached 38.8% compared to lower poverty incidence rates in Luzon (20%) and the Visayas (33%).

He further explained, "The country has yet to realize development goals for Mindanao set 50 years ago," adding that when Mindanao mechanisms were created they were either subsumed or abolished during changes in national leadership.

In light of the November tragedy in Maguindanao, Angara emphasized that the ensuing conflicts and such killings in Mindanao can only be traced to a history of social and economic disparity in the region, dragging old issues into the present day. In effect, he said, the clamor for political dominance has become a tool for triumph over any form of injustice.

Angara also lamented that such challenges can be attributed to the overly-centralized government system, lack of educational opportunities, cultural and religious conflicts, foreign intervention and agitation, and the lack of employment and income opportunities.

He then offered that the present over-centralization of the bureaucracy in Manila must be dismantled, and full and unconditional autonomy must be granted to all its government units at once.

Angara is proposing the Mindanao Economic Development Act (MEDA) to harness the region's potentials for industrial development and make it a hub for economic and trade activities with East-Asian neighbors. The MEDA has recently been passed on second reading at the Senate Plenary and is due for third reading.

"ARMM's autonomy will not be affected in terms of exercise of power by local leaders, as what many fear. Rather, MEDA, as a complementing agency, will ensure that ARMM keeps up with Mindanao's overall development," clarified Angara.

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