DAVAO CITY—The growth and development of Mindanao could drive the country’s full progress if the government and other stakeholders succeed in unlocking the region’s potentials.
Mara Warwick, World Bank country director for Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, expressed this prospect during the presentation of the “Philippines-Mindanao Jobs Report” at a hotel in this city on April 6.
Warwick underscored the need for the national and local governments, the private sector and other players to be more focused, interconnected and coordinated in planning, as well as implementing programs and reforms to unlock Mindanao’s potentials.
She said that, in the long run, progress in the entire country depends on the growth and development of the southern Philippine region.
“Mindanao holds about one-fourth of the country’s population and one-third of the total number of poor Filipinos. Therefore, significantly reducing national poverty hinges on reducing poverty [there to ensure] Mindanao’s prosperity benefits the entire country,” the World Bank executive pointed out during the launch of the report, which was made in collaboration with the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) and the Philippine Business for Social Progress.
Recommendations on development
A STRATEGY on Mindanao’s development, the 92-page report outlines recommendations to speed up growth that creates more and better jobs while it reduces poverty in the region.
Warwick said the report has gone through an extensive consultation process.
Following the study, she said the World Bank came up with three recommendations around three development areas.
These are: 1) raising the productivity of Mindanao’s agriculture and fisheries sector and improving connectivity to markets; 2) boosting human capital and social protection for the poor; and 3) addressing the drivers of conflict and strengthening institutions in conflict-affected areas.
After seeing the disparity and sharp regional contrasts, the World Bank official said they saw the need to develop a strategy for Mindanao to hasten its development.
She cited as an example the country’s GDP per capita at $2,953. In Mindanao, however, the GDP per capita is only $1,800, while that of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is only $576.
“Such regional disparities are further reinforced by the human development indicators in Mindanao, with the greatest challenge in ARMM,” Warwick explained.
She said more than half of ARMM’s population are poor, and more than half of its employed population are in agriculture, with 80 percent of them working as subsistence farmers and living precariously “from crop to crop.”
Warwick revealed the recommendations are either under various stages of implementation or in the pipeline of projects prepared by MinDA, other government agencies and the local government units.
The World Bank and other development partners are also supporting a number of projects.
“What the report tries to achieve is a reinforcement of the idea that no single project, program or reform can solve Mindanao’s challenges,” she revealed. “If we all work together: the government, the private sector, civil society and development partners, Mindanao’s potential today can be unlocked for a more vibrant tomorrow where Filipinos will have better chance to have better life.”
Warwick said the World Bank Group partnership strategy for the country focuses on scaling up support for peace building and development in Mindanao.
The World Bank is supporting the government’s program to raise agricultural productivity and improve connectivity from farm to market; boost education, skills and employability of the youth; and help build resilient communities.
PHL development plan
ON the other hand, Secretary Datu Hj. Abul Khayr D. Alonto, MinDA chairman, vowed to pursue projects and programs for Mindanao under the administration of President Duterte.
Alonto said it has been two years of talking about projects, and it is now time to implement the ones detailed under the Philippine Development Plan of 2017-2022. He emphasized the need to spur activities more efficiently with the support of all stakeholders to achieve the objectives set in the Mindanao Jobs Report.
The MinDA chairman sees Mindanao’s agriculture and agri-based industries as the most prominent economic drivers. He is also banking on the region’s growth corridor strategy that was designed to improve infrastructure, enhance linkages between growing and lagging regions, as well as ensure balanced growth.
The said strategy would lead to greater connectivity that can reduce transportation costs and improve the competitiveness of small farmers and other producers.
Alonto said there are already 35 projects that facilitate the movement of people, goods and services, such as ports and airports improvements, roads and bridges that are given priority for national government funding. He said 21 priority projects have a funding worth P17 billion.
“It is high time to implement [these projects], not only to propel Mindanao but to provide jobs,” the MinDA official declared.