ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Twenty (20) civil society organizations (CSOs), three (3) academes, and three (3) private sectorโs officials and representatives from the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi (BaSulTa) took part in the formulation of the 2nd Bangsamoro Development Plan (BDP) for 2023-2028 during a one-day consultation-workshop facilitated by the Bangsamoro Planning and Development Authority (BPDA), the technical secretariat of the five sectoral committees under the Bangsamoro Economic and Development Council (BEDC), held Thursday, Oct. 20 at Winn Hotel in Barangay Canelar, this city.
In partnership with the Support to Bangsamoro Transition (SUBATRA), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and The Asia Foundation (TAF) โ FORWARD Bangsamoro, this consultation aimed to gather information and solicit inputs and recommendations from the said sectors to ensure an inclusive formulation of the said development plan.
In a statement delivered by Zenaida Badrudin, Chief of Administrative Support Services, BPDA Director General Engr. Mohajirin T. Ali underscored that the Bangsamoro Government recognizes the role of the CSOs, academe, and private sector in BaSulTa as significant contributors to the development of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
โWe took consideration of our stakeholders to take part in this by providing relevant information to make this plan inclusive,โ DG Ali emphasized as the BPDA ensures inclusivity in the planโs formulation process.
Camelia de-Vera Dacanay, Chief of BPDAโs Macro-economic Planning Division, presented the salient features of the draft 2nd BDP, highlighting the regionโs macro-economic performance, development challenges and gaps, functional roles of provinces, cities, municipalities, and special geographic areas, and the planโs proposed overall development framework.
Meanwhile, the Development Administration Committee (DACom), Economic Development Committee (EDCom), Infrastructure Development Committee (IDCom), Social Development Committee (SDCom), and Peace, Public Order, Safety and Security Committee (PPOSSCom) facilitated the sectoral workshops through providing technical assistance and guidance to the participants.
The participating officials and representatives from CSOs, academe, and private sector contributed relevant information on the potentials, opportunities, functional role, vulnerability, and challenges confronting the development administration, economic, social, peace and security, and infrastructure sectors in BaSulTa.
Said participants also revealed that the island provinces are vulnerable to recurrence of armed conflicts, flooding, sea surge, storm surge, rise of sea levels in the municipality of Hadji Panglima Tahil, accidents due to sudden water changes, and volcanic eruption of Bud Tumantangis in Sulu.
To further the development of the BARMM, the participants recommended strategies and proposed several areas of complementation with the regional government. Among their recommendations include the development of tourist spots; improve production and exportation of agricultural products such as rubber, coconut, coco oil, durian, marang, mangosteen, and lansones; value-adding on major commodities; building facilities for food processing; contextualize the information and use of tri-media platforms to keep the grassroots informed on BARMMโs progress and development; strengthening of the taxation system; establishment of digital infrastructures; effective monitoring of projects and engaging CSOs for feedback monitoring; establishment and strengthening of data management system; strengthening partnerships between the CSOs and BARMM ministries, offices, and agencies; establish or improve processing plants for seaweeds production; provision of solar power; benchmarking of successful agri-aqua projects and programs; and management and protection of the Sulu Sea and Celebes Sea.
Cris Cayon, Chief of Party of TAF-FORWARD Bangsamoro, stated that there has to be a voice coming from the CSOs, academe, and the private sector.
โHindi lang naman ito one-way ticket langโฆ Hindi pupwede na may sasabihin kayo, tapos na. Ilalagay sa dokumento, tapos na.ย I really think that the conversation needs to continue,โ he stressed while emphasizing the importance of including the elements of feedback loop in the planโs formulation process.
Moreover, this consultation was the ninth-leg of the region-wide consultation for the formulation of the 2nd BDP.ย (Mary Lovella Lao-Lastimosa, BPDA-BARMM)
