Cotabato City - The Bangsamoro Development Agency Executive Director Dr. Danda N. Juanday disclosed that the government efforts to alleviate poverty and economically develop the Bangsamoro land has not brought any positive and encouraging changes in the lives of the Moros. He expressed their dismay over the plight of the Bangsamoro people in Mindanao wherein extreme poverty still exists despite talks for peace and development by the national government.

In a recent gathering, Juanday posed the question “What can be possibly done to guarantee the success of any development programs for the Moros in Mindanao?” Dr. Juanday made the comment during the formal inauguration of the Bangsamoro Women Skills Training Center in Simuay, Sultan Kudarat, Shariff Kabunsuan.

The construction of the training center for the Bangsamoro women is part of the 12 Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP) committed under the Embassy of Japan through the Japan - Bangsamoro Initiatives for Reconstruction and Development (J-BIRD). J-BIRD is Japan’s commitment to support peace and stability in Mindanao. BDA is a development arm of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, an organization engaging with a peace negotiation with the national government in a hope to attain self-determination.

Dr. Juanday further reasoned out that the failure of the administration to address the grievances and the miserable situation of the Moro people lies in three things.

First, the Moro do not suit to the development scheme of the government. Second, the government development initiatives fail to address the complex personalities of the Moro and their distinct culture. And third reason is that the government did not take into consideration that Islam should define the kind of development that the Moro should have.

Juanday even added that any development effort that fails to acknowledge this “will prove to be a futile undertaking as what has been proven time and again”.

“This time, we are trying to make a change and straighten up the failures as we go along the process of developing our nation into becoming more progressive and self-reliant”, said Juanday as he acknowledge the challenges they face in a hope to attain their dreams for the Bangsamoro communities.

Moreover, BDA Chairman Dr. Abas Candao reminded the Bangsamoro people especially the Ittihadun-Nisa’ Foundation, Inc. (INFo), implementor of the project, to align their goals with that of the BDA goal-that of “building the people who will build the nation”.

Dr. Candao also cautioned that rushing to interventions designed to increase GDP per capita and shifting away from addressing the sources and drivers of the conflict may lead to failure. Efforts to promote economic development that lack the mechanism to tackle inequity may entrench, rather than address latent or explicit conflict dynamics. It is only by addressing conflict dynamics that equitable economic growth can be achieved.

Meanwhile, MILF CCCH chair Von Al Haq reported that the “peace accord is strongly holding and the support and cooperation from the international community and local partners and stakeholders, especially the civil society groups are steadily improving”.

With that, he expressed optimism that strengthening and accelerating the implementation of development programs for the oppressed Bangsamoro people and communities will now take bolder strides.

	1. Written by This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it on 09-11-2007 08:57 - Guest
	The government itself is in financial lo The effort of the government in alleviating poverty, not only in the ARMM, in our country is not effective and effecient because the government itself is in a loss of it's expenditures.     if we try to examine, our country is not producing any product for exportatioin that has been recognized in the world market. it simply means that our products are not competible against other nation's goods.     a very simple example is, in production of automobile and cars, how can our own product compete. OUR PRIMARY AUTOMOBILE/CAR PRODUCT IS "JEEPNEY" or SARAO. how can it be marketable? Comfortability wise it will not attract buyers' interest.     and so as other products produced by our country. let's say corn, rice, milk, butter and even rubber. our products cannot compete yet we are a proud member of the W.T.O. we allow imported goods to be sold in our territory free of taxes and other charges.     another problem that causes loss is non-continuity or non-permanency of our policies. every administration introduces their own policy for our better governance yet leaving the previous program of the past administrations hanging and unresolved. so no result can be attained. I may be allowed to illustrate, during the Ramos Administration the national policy was privatization of government owned corporations and business firms. When Erap's time came it was focused on poverty alleviation in the beginning. You will see different projects for the poor named ERAP. Then he was forced to resign due to the clamor and movement of the people. now, comes PGMA's administration. this administration is focused on uplifting our economic condition through the impositioin of tax measures. Said tax measures caused increase in our basic commodities.     an example of this non-permanency of policy is the privitazation program of Ramos administration that affected too much our economy. Government owned and controlled corporations (GOCC) were prepared for being privatized, like the NPC where their employees were paid SEPARATION PAY for their termination. the government spent too much fund for this program but it was not pursued. All of a sudden the employees of the NPC were rehired and was employed like new employees. allowing them to get their separation pay and then started as new employees. how much fund had the government spent for this planned program?     There is no permanent line that our goverment is threading. So, where are we going?     And, in the aspect of peace process. Let's start from Ramos to PGMA. During the Ramos' time the policy for peace is quite effective. it was this administration that has convinced the MNLF to accept the SPCPD as part of the imlementation of the peace accord. when ERAP became the president the government policy was ALL-OUT-WAR! so during this so called war, how much did the government loss. had they cleansed the revolution? NO. Now, PGMA's policy is more of an accommodation in order to lessent the conflict between the MILF and the GRP. but, there is no concrete pact that has been agreed yet.     POLICY OF INTERTWINED INTEREST.   Every administration has its own way of dealing with the ever growing and evolving problems of our nation. Thus, no permanent answer has ever been made.     FOR THIS SIMPLE REASON THE GOVERNMENT CANNOT EFFECTIVELY ALLEVIATE POVERTY IN OUR COUNTRY AS A WHOLE.     ESPECIALLY nowadays that said alleviation is not the priority or not part of the real and actual program of the government as shown by its everyday transactions and activities.

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