DAVAO CITY (MEDCo / 01 Feb) President Gloria Arroyo has ordered the rationalization and consolidation of development efforts in Mindanao in an effort to further boost peace in the region.
Arroyo has signed Executive Order No. 496, which placed at least 4 Mindanao-based offices principally involved in the government's peace and development efforts, under the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP).
OPPAP is the lead agency tasked with the implementation and supervision of the government's comprehensive peace efforts.
These offices include the Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCo), Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao -- Social Fund for Peace and Development (ARMM-SFPD), Mindanao Peace and Development Fund (MPDF), and the Office of Muslim Affairs (OMA).
Created in 1992, MEDCo is tasked to promote and coordinate the active and extensive participation of all sectors to effect socio-economic development of Mindanao.
MEDCo was also designated as the Philippine Coordinating Office for Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).
On the other hand, the ARMM Social Fund is tasked to promote peace and development in conflict-affected and influenced communities, while the MPDF which replaced the deactivated Southern Philippines Development Authority (SPDA), is similarly tasked to socio-economic development in conflict affected areas outside of ARMM.
Meanwhile, OMA is mandated primarily to provide advice and assistance to Arroyo in the formulation, coordination, implementation and monitoring of policies and projects affecting Muslim communities, and to undertake and coordinate development programs for the advancement of Muslim communities.
Malacanang stressed the strategic importance of ensuring the integrationand rationalization of peace and development efforts in Mindanao, noting the needs to accelerate these efforts and expand to areas that are inneed most of government support.
It also noted dramatic rise in the level of development efforts beingcarried out in Mindanao today by various players which necessitate a straight forward mechanism to rationalize implementation of multi-level development initiatives and ensure integration of these activities toward a collective end.
Under E.O. 496, the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process "shallo versee and whenever appropriate, have the authority to direct and manage projects related to the government's comprehensive peace anddevelopment efforts."
Jesus Dureza is the current head of the OPAPP.
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