DAVAO CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / September 6, 2008) - Mindanao can still be extricated from its present "chicken and egg" situation where peace is impossible to achieve with wide spread poverty or that poverty is impossible to solve without peace - if only the government could invite Arab investments that would generate jobs and jump-start development in the region.
House Speaker Prospero Nograles expressed belief that investments from rich Islamic countries can safely operate in Mindanao because they enjoy the trust and respect of Filipino Muslims, including the insurgents.
"No Muslim would blow up an Arab investment," Nograles surmised adding that nearly all major Mosques in the country are build from funds coming from the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC).
According to Nograles, Mindanao is trapped in a situation where investments and infrastructure development that would generate jobs and provide livelihood to the Muslims and Christians in Mindanao cannot be put in place because of the volatile peace and order situation in the area.
He said that many investors attempted to put up job-generating businesses in some parts of Mindanao, including the province of Basilan, which is a known lair of the Abu Sayyaf, but decided to withdraw due to constant harassment and extortion by armed groups.
Nograles lamented that so-called Mindanao hot spots such as Basilan, Tawi-Tawi and Sulu provinces have so much potential in terms of investments.
Basilan is dotted with palm oil trees and it is also suitable for rubber tree plantations while Tawi-Tawi and Sulu are believed to hold huge deposits of oil and natural gas. The islands are also endowed with picture-perfect natural beauty that can match even the world's best tourist destinations.
"There are some who say that we can't have peace because there is no economic development, and we are poor. Some say investments won't come in because there is no peace. So, we really have a problem," he said.
"Since the insurgency in Mindanao is largely Muslim-related, I believe that we should put in investments coming from our Muslim brothers from the OIC.
The insurgents will not touch them especially because nearly all major Mosques in our country are funded by members of the OIC," he said.
Inviting Arab investments, Nograles said, can be the best approach to jump-start the development of Mindanao but they are discouraged by the restrictive equity requirement in the Constitution. And with China and even Vietnam opening up their economies, Nograles said that the country is losing much of its advantage as a viable investment destination.
"Our Arab friends and OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) friends also tell us why go to Mindanao with our money and technology and you just give us 40 percent and you (Filipinos) keep 60 percent?"
"This was why I filed a Resolution (now with the Committee on Constitutional Amendments chaired by Rep. Victor Ortega) removing the 60-40 provision from the Constitution so that foreign corporations could come in, especially in areas of oil and mineral exploration and other major projects like a Mindanao railway system," Nograles said. (Romy Bwaga)
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