6 Muslim Areas In Mindanao Get Foreign Aid

Representatives of donor agencies visit the ongoing construction of a livelihood training center under the Mindanao Trust Fund–Reconstruction and Development Program (MTF-RDP). They include Britt Hartvig, counselor and deputy head of mission of the Swedish Embassy in Manila; Mary Judd (second from left), World Bank representative in Mindanao; and Joachim von Amsberg, World Bank country representative to the Philippines. (Jason Carlos)

MANILA (Jason Carlos / 09 Feb) – At least six Muslim areas in the southern Philippines have benefited from humanitarian projects under the so-called multi-donor trust fund and reconstruction program of the World Bank and Swedish government and other foreign donor agencies.

Representatives from the World Bank, the Embassy of Sweden, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) have recently visited the village of Pacalundo in Balo-i town in Lanao del Norte province, site of one of many livelihood projects in Mindanao.

The project, a community hall cum livelihood training center, is intended as a venue for health care and training activities for hundreds of Muslim women. The training includes bread and cake baking, soap making, virgin coconut oil processing, dress and bag manufacturing, and farming technologies.

Joachim von Amsberg, World Bank country representative to the Philippines, and Mary Judd, the World Bank representative in Mindanao, toured the site late last month together with Britt Hartvig, counselor and Deputy Head of Mission of the Swedish Embassy in Manila, and Gerardo Porta, a senior civic participation specialist at the USAID Office of Economic Development and Governance.

Amsberg praised the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA), the economic arm of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), for facilitating the delivery and eventual completion of the various sub-projects while acting as the Central Program Management Office (CPMO) for MTF-RDP projects in the southern island.

He also hailed the OPAPP and foreign donor agencies involved in the program, which include the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), the European Union (EU), and the government of New Zealand for their continued support in the rehabilitation program in the troubled region.

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, Jesus Dureza, said he appreciates the commitments of the donor agencies and foreign governments in financing development efforts particularly in Mindanao and would continue to work closely with their representatives to ensure sustainable projects in the region.

“We highly appreciate the level of development efforts carried out in Mindanao notably from the foreign donor community, especially this dynamic collaboration in Southern Philippines which allowed the establishment of a sustained network among all stakeholders and development players in the region,” Dureza said.

For her part, Hartvig expressed Sweden’s gratitude for the warm welcome and appreciation from the people of Pacalundo, particularly the beneficiaries of villages under the Momungan Organization for Development and Equality Living (MODEL), a community-based people’s organization.

Porta meanwhile cited the many projects that USAID has contributed to the region, as he also expressed his happiness on the people’s warm reception to the village hall and training center project, which began in late October 2006 and is expected to be finished by the third week of February 2007.

Dr. Abas Candao, chair of the BDA, said the first phase of the MTF-RDP is part of the confidence-building measures that the MILF and the Philippine government are both undertaking for the peace process pending the signing of a final comprehensive peace agreement between the two parties.

“The overall aim of the program is to build the capacity of people for participatory, gender-sensitive, re-constructive, and development activities promoting economic and social recovery in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao, particularly in Bangsamoro areas,” Candao said.

Aside from Pacalundo in Balo-i, the other pilot areas are in the villages of Sapad in Matanog, Malisbong in Palimbang, Sungayan in Dinas, Baguindan in Tipo-Tipo, and Lucatan in Tarragona.