“The restoration of peace in Muslim Mindanao after decades of armed rebellion means that the national and local governments can now focus on economic growth and development”
We still recall the time when the island of Mindanao was dubbed the “Land of Promise” or “Land of Opportunity” for its rich natural resources and pristine ecological state.
The postwar national government even opened up the area to homesteaders and migrants from Luzon and the Visayas who wanted to till the soil to escape from poverty and uplift their living standards.
But that idyllic setting was shattered by the sound of gunfire beginning in the 1970s when the predominantly Muslim population in some provinces, feeling neglected by the national government, formed armed groups to seek Mindanao independence.
Among these were the Moro National Liberation Front that engaged government troops in bloody hostilities until they agreed to a peace agreement in 1977.
A breakaway group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front took up the cudgels for the separatist cause but also agreed to a peace deal with the government in 2014 in exchange for regional autonomy in certain areas.
Apart from these two main rebel groups in Mindanao, terrorist organizations, notably the Abu Sayyaf and, later, the Maute Group and the Dawlah Islamiyah, emerged and launched bombings and attacks on government forces from 2000 onwards, with the seven-month siege of Marawi city in 2017 underscoring the presence of militants professing allegiance to the Islamic State.
Today, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao or BARMM is already fully operational and preparing to hold elections for various leadership positions even as the military conducts mopping operations against remnants of terrorist groups.
The restoration of peace in Muslim Mindanao after decades of armed rebellion means the national and local governments can now focus on economic growth and development in former conflict areas, with the end-in-view of reducing high poverty incidence and rebuilding political and social structures and processes disrupted by fratricidal war for so long.
Renewed hope in the future of Mindanao is well in evidence these days in the infrastructure projects of the Marcos Jr. administration in various parts of southern Philippines.
Among these is the P5.1-billion Malitubog-Maridagao Irrigation Project (MMIP) Stage II launched by the North Cotabato provincial government, together with the National Irrigation Administration, in Barangay Bagoinged, Pikit, on April 30.
The MMIP II will cover 9,528 hectares of agricultural land in the municipalities of Pikit, Aleosan, Pangalungan in North Cotabato province, and Datu Montawal in Maguindanao del Sur, in the BARMM, with water sourced from Maridagao river.
The project will benefit 4,043 farmers.
The inauguration ceremony was led by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and graced by the presence of North Cotabato officials and NIA administrator Eduardo Guillen.
In his remarks, the Chief Executive emphasized the MMIP II will support the administration’s efforts to advance democracy and peace in conflict areas and provide water to the provinces of Cotabato and Maguindanao’s agricultural sectors.
“With this irrigation project, the land will become a fertile field of grain. It will bring many bountiful harvests, nourish many families, and ensure their children will get their fair share of progress. It will put food on their plates, so that people may share their blessings at the table of peace,” the President pointed out.
For his part, NIA administrator Eduardo Guillen said the project will help the farmers boost their agricultural productivity, making their harvest abundant amid the prevailing El Niño phenomenon.
“This is what they need as the number one problem in agriculture is low productivity. This irrigation facility will help improve peace and order, farmers’ lives, and food security,” he said.
Soliman Udasan, among the farmer-beneficiaries, said the project will create a huge impact “as this will give us hope and help uplift our lives by increasing our income.”
In the past, Maguindanao and Cotabato witnessed fierce fighting between government troops and Moro separatists.
These two provinces are now among the poorest in the country, their population dependent on crop production in land lacking irrigation.
But with the MMIP, the former war zone where much blood was shed on both sides can now begin the long process of enhancing agricultural production that would significantly improve the lives of people and allow them to face the future with dignity and confidence. (Email: ernhil@yahoo.com)