Mindanao receives P1.2-B in US assistance this year

The United States has poured close to P2.1 billion this year into Mindanao, which is more than half of US development assistance to the Philippines.

Michael Yates, mission director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), said a considerable portion of the assistance program in Mindanao has been used in helping more than 13,000 former guerrillas of the Moro National Liberation Front.

"Partly this is due to the long-standing conflict in Mindanao, and these facts clearly suggest that the region should be a priority for economic and social development," he said.

"Such development can help to rebuild a peaceful economy and encourage increased investment, job creation and economic growth," Yates said.

Speaking at the 11th Mindanao Business Conference in Surigao City over the weekend, Yates said beneficiaries of USAID’s Livelihood Enhancement and Peace Program (LEAP) expanded last month from 4,000 to 8,000.

"USAID is very much looking forward to continued close collaboration and mutual support for the progress of Mindanao," Yates said. "The effort is significantly made possible with the favorable cooperation between the program implementors and the local counterparts on the ground."

He said USAID has extended its Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) program, which involves the enhancement and expansion of production and marketing of a number of agriculture and aquaculture products.

Yates said USAID has also established close coordination with various local governments in Mindanao to implement several other programs, including those on population and health, as well as environmental governance in at least 50 towns in strife-torn areas.

USAID has also been involved in giving financial services to 80 rural banks and 45 cooperatives in Mindanao, he added.

GEM shall also be implementing within the next three to four years small-scale infrastructure programs for 500 communities as well as road and port improvements in certain key areas in Mindanao.

The US aid program is also helping the barangay justice system find solutions to local disputes through mediation as provided in the Local Government Code.

With a success rate of 85 to 95 percent, the program is expected to reach 700 more barangays in the expanded Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

US assistance in Mindanao has been noted to be more focused on projects in the ARMM, Central Mindanao, and other areas affected by war.

The USAID has been one of the leading international donor agencies which has been involved in overseas development assistance for Mindanao over the years.

Other USAID programs include electrification in at least 160 remote communities in Western and Central Mindanao.