|
FOREIGN
businessmen in the country, while believing there are
important business implications in the issue of a peace
pact with Moro rebels, do not intend to intervene in any
way because they also see the whole problem as political
and fully within the sovereign right of the Philippines.
The controversial issue of the proposed
agreement on ancestral domain has been brought to the
Supreme Court, which had temporarily stopped its signing
by both sides, the government and the Moro Islamic
Liberation Front (MILF).
“We believe it is purely a political and
local issue,” said Rob Sears, executive director of the
American Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines. He
added that in any case, they hope the problems and
violence spawned by the interruption in the signing of
the agreement will be resolved soon.
Relatedly, ongoing battles between
government forces and alleged renegade units of the MILF
in North Cotobato and Lanao del Norte have not affected
the robust tourism industry, Secretary Joseph Ace Durano
said on Wednesday.
“North Cotabato and Lanao del Norte are
approximately 965 kilometers and 350 kilometers from the
country’s gateways, Manila and Cebu, respectively. Our
regional offices are in close coordination with
establishments while monitoring the status of foreign
tourists in their areas. The private sector has likewise
informed us that there are no cancellations on their
package tours,” Durano said.
Commercial activities and public
services in surrounding provinces and cities continue
their regular operations, he added.
He noted that the country’s top
destinations, such as Manila, Boracay, Palawan, Davao,
Bohol and Cebu, remain safe for both international and
local guests; and the operations of establishments in
the tourism industry (transportation services, hotels,
resorts and restaurants) remain normal.
For his part, the foreign chambers’
Sears said achieving peace in Mindanao is important in
order to draw in foreign investors. “But eventually, if
and when there is peace in Mindanao, it will be getting
the investments.”
Earlier, the Philippine Chamber of
Commerce and Industry, the Mindanao business chambers,
and the Makati Business Club expressed their opposition
to the ancestral domain agreement as proposed, due to
the uncertainties they believe it will create should it
push through. The uncertainty will eventually hurt
business in the region, they said.
In relation to this issue, the Dipolog
Chamber of Commerce and Industry issued a statement on
Wedenesday saying, “we trust the police and military
authorities [will] maintain the peace and request them
to secure Mindanao.”
Edgar
Bagarinao, president of the Dipolog chamber, said their
area remains free of violence but that, “We are issuing
this statement in view of the recent atrocities
perpetrated by MILF rebels in the Lanao area and its
perceived effect on the peace-and-order situation in the
City of Dipolog, which is hosting the 17th Mindanao
Business Conference from August 27 to 29, 2008.”
He said
they are “one with the people of Dipolog, Dapitan and
Zamboanga del Norte in claiming that our place is among
the most peaceful places in Mindanao,” and that the 17th
Mindanao Business Conference will push through as
originally scheduled.
In a
similar vein, the chairman of the government’s
socioeconomic planning unit in Mindanao, the Mindanao
Economic Development Council (Medco), appealed to
residents and business leaders “to have faith and not
waver in our resolve to accelerate the pace of peace and
development across the island-region
“We, at Medco, are deeply concerned by
such lawlessness that wreaked havoc [on] our communities
and inflicted another setback in our effort to improve
the lives of poor Mindanaons, most especially the
internally displaced people of Mindanao,” it said in a
statement.
He warned that these incidents “could
erode the gains of the island’s socioeconomic
development and worsen the negative perception about
Mindanao, thereby reducing opportunities for business
expansion and job-generation.” .” --With S.
Fabunan |
