Sulu Praises US support to peace and development; hails Obama

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / August 18, 2009) – Sulu Governor Sakur Tan praised the United States on Tuesday for its continuing support to peace and development in the province.

Tan said the United States Agency for International Development donated thousands of books and reference materials on Monday through US Ambassador Kristie Kenny.

“We thank President Barack Obama and Ambassador Kristie Kenney and the people of the United States and all those who continue to help us through various humanitarian projects and peace and development programs for Sulu,” he told reporters.

Tan said a book fair was also held on Tuesday and attended by hundreds of teachers and students.

The USAID is an independent government agency that provides economic development and humanitarian assistance to advance US economic and political interests overseas.

Kenney for her part pledged to continue peace and development supports to Sulu, one of five provinces under the Muslim autonomous region, Tan said.

He said Kenney also led US officials in the inauguration of the multi-million two-storey building of the Area Coordination Center near the Provincial Capitol in Patikul town.

The ACC coordinate Sulu’s various non-governmental agencies, military, police, emergency services and other organizations and serves as an inter-agency communication network.

Tan said the ACC is a facility established as a proactive, reactive, and post conflict mechanism to address various concerns at regional and local levels of governance and to solve problems of coordination and response.

The ACC functions both as a system and as a council for planning, integrating, directing, supervising, and implementing line-up government programs and projects particularly on political, socioeconomic, cultural, religious, development, security and information issues, said Fazlur-Rahman Abdulla, ACC Executive Director.

“The newly-inaugurated ACC is worth more than P20 million and was funded by the United States government. We have now a total of 20 Area Coordinating Centers – one for each of Sulu’s 19 towns and the central ACC headquarters in Patikul town. The Tausug people appreciate President Obama's assistance and the US government's continued support to our efforts to sustain peace and development in Sulu,” Abdulla told the Mindanao Examiner by phone on Tuesday.

U.S. troops are deployed in Sulu on the request of the Philippine government, to train and advise the local military. They are also active in humanitarian missions and were working alongside with Filipino soldiers in development projects on poor areas in Jolo. (Jung Francisco)

Sulu gets more US-funded projects

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 20, 2008) – US and Philippine soldiers involved in humanitarian missions in the southern province of Sulu are to hand over a finished road project, Governor Hajji Sakur Tan said Sunday.

Tan said the soldiers are also to begin the construction of an Area Coordinating Center, a facility that is established as a proactive, reactive, and post conflict mechanism to address various concerns at regional and local levels of governance and to solve problems of coordination and response.

The ACC, which cost over $150,000 each, will also function both as a system and as a council for planning, integrating, directing, supervising, and implementing line-up government programs and projects particularly on political, socioeconomic, cultural, religious, development, security and information issues.

Just last month, US and Philippine military officials also handed over to Tan and Mayor Hussin Amin an ACC building in Jolo town. More than a dozen ACC buildings have been handed over to provincial government since 2006 when US and Philippine troops began joint military trainings in Sulu dubbed as "Oplan: Balikatan," which means "shoulder-to-shoulder."

Tan said the 500-meter road project in Buansa village in Indanan town would be handed over to local government officials on Thursday in a ceremony to be attended by American and Filipino military officials.

"These projects are symbols of true democracy and unity. These ACC buildings and many other humanitarian and development projects will surely benefit our people and again we thank President George Bush and the American people for their support to our efforts to bring peace in the province," he said in a statement.

Marine Major General Juancho Sabban, commander of military forces in Sulu, said more than P1 billion have already been spent by US and Philippine militaries on various humanitarian and development projects in the province the past two years.

"It is not just about infrastructure or humanitarian projects, but we really wanted to help the poor communities and support peace efforts in Sulu. Peace efforts are our mandate, which do not only comprise the fight against terrorism, but as well as development initiatives, which incorporate reforms and investments in education and other social services to pave way for progress," Sabban said.

He said: "By winning the minds and hearts of the people, we can successfully break the will of those who rebel against the government and bring them back to the folds of the law."

Just recently, US Ambassador Kristie Kenney was in Sulu where she launched various development projects, among them the repair of the airport runway and the water system in the capital town of Jolo.

Tan said the projects are worth some $3.7 million and on top of the more than $190 million pledged by Washington last year for infrastructure and other development and humanitarian projects in Mindanao.

US troops are deployed in Sulu on the request of the Philippine government to train and advise the local military. They are also active in humanitarian missions and were working alongside with Filipino soldiers in development projects on poor areas in the province. (Mindanao Examiner)