Bangsamoro plan gets funds

THE WORLD BANK (WB) has earmarked $540,000 (about P24.1 million) for the creation of a Bangsamoro Development Plan (BDP) aimed at ensuring inclusive growth in Mindanao, the multilateral lending agency said in a press statement.

The WB said the BDP will provide a short- and medium-term development strategy for Bangsamoro areas in the region.”Specifically, the BDP will identify investments and programs to promote inclusive growth, stability, and help create jobs in the Bangsamoro from 2014 until 2020,” the WB said.Bangsamoro will be the new entity that will replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) based on the Framework Agreement between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Dr. Saffrullah M. Dipatuan, chairman of the BDA Board of Directors, was quoted in the statement as saying that the plan would “play a crucial rule in the establishment and success of the Bangsamoro.”

“Through extensive consultations, the BDP will set the strategic direction for the new Bangsamoro government by identifying potential areas for investment, private sector promotion and cooperation with other regions in the country,” Mr. Dipatuan said.

The BDP’s planning process is funded from the Mindanao Trust Fund (MTF) administered by the WB. The MTF, which started in 2006, is a “$28-million multi-donor facility that supports economic and social recovery and promotes inclusive and effective governance in conflict-affected areas of Mindanao.”

The MTF program serves as a mechanism for international development partner to pool resources and coordinate support for peace and development.

The trust fund draws on recent contributions from the European Union and the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

The other development partners supporting the MTF are the following: the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade; the Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada; the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency; and the United States Agency for International Development.

“The BDP, which will reflect the goals of the Bangsamoro people, the indigenous peoples, and other sectors in Mindanao, will help strengthen the Bangsamoro region to become the anchor and the sanctuary of our aspirations of shared prosperity and shared security,” Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Q. Deles said in a statement.

WB Country Director Motoo Konishi said the crafting of the BDP will help strengthen the confidence in the ongoing peace process.

“This planning process demonstrates how the government and the MILF — with the support of development partners, civil society groups, private sector and other stakeholders — are working together to deliver a tangible dividend to communities from the peace process,” Mr. Konishi said in the same statement.

Meanwhile, an economist from the WB said the country’s economy needs to generate about 14.6 million jobs in the next four years if the government wants to ensure inclusive growth.

JOBS NEEDED
During the regional dialogue held at the University of South Eastern Philippines in Davao City on Tuesday, WB senior economist Karl Kendrick Tiu Chua said: “Only half of the 500,000 college graduates every year can be absorbed in business process outsourcing (BPO), manufacturing, real estate and finance while the other half has the option to find work abroad.”

While a sustained 7% gross domestic product growth per year and the removal of constraints in fast-growing sectors like the BPO industry can provide more workers with good jobs, Mr. Chua said 12.4 million Filipinos will still be unemployed or underemployed.

Mr. Chua blamed the long history of policy distortions that slowed down the agriculture and manufacturing sectors in the last six decades for the lack of better jobs for Filipinos, despite the country’s continued growth.

He said this has resulted in the inability of the agriculture sector, and the labor-intensive manufacturing industry to take off.

Among the policies he cited as the reason for the unavailability of jobs are the monopolies and lack of competition, complex regulations, insecure property rights, and lack of investments.

“Monopolies charge high price for low quality, so you see airlines with high cost but poor services that cancel flights regularly,” he said.

In agriculture, he said these include protectionist policies such as that of rice self-sufficiency, large subsidies for inputs and distortions in institutions that prevent broad and secure access to land by small landholders.

“There is a high degree of landlessness which has not been brought down by decades of agricultural reform,” Mr. Chua said.

He said high prices of food and agriculture inputs have in turn contributed to high statutory minimum wages and high production cost in downstream agribusiness, manufacturing and services which raised the cost of living, reduced employment and dampened real income.

A business leader in Davao City agreed with the economist’s comments. “The economy is indeed growing but the question is: where are the jobs?,” said Antonio T. dela Cruz, president of Davao City Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc.

Mr. dela Cruz cited the problem of education and job mismatch that hounds 46,000 graduates of Davao City alone every year.

He said even the Davao chamber members are guilty of accepting applicants who are overqualified.

However, a survey conducted by local schools show that local industries put a premium now on workers who can easily accept instructions and perform better.

The question is whether businesses are ready to hire non-degree holders, he added.

“The challenge for Davao is how to bring in investments that can be translated into job-generating opportunities,” Mr. dela Cruz said. - with Carmencita A. Carillo in Davao City

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