Peace talks boost investor confidence in ARMM

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines - – The Board of Investment (BOI) of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) approved the registration of a record-high P1.451-billion investment in the region, indicating surging investors’ confidence in the forthcoming Bangsamoro region.

The approval came on Feb. 13 following a meeting of the ARMM’s BOI held in this city.

The P1.451-billion investment is just for the first two months of 2014, compared with the P1.463-billion investment registered last year.

BOI chairman Ishak Mastura noted that this is the first time that investment in ARMM has reached more than P1 billion on a year-on-year basis.

Mastura also said that with the surging investors’ confidence, the BOI projected that the investment this year in the Muslim region might hit the P2-billion mark or even more.

Mastura expressed belief that the record-high increase in investment could be the effect of the signing of the annex on normalization, the last of four annexes of the Framework Agreement on Bangsamoro (FAB), last January by the Philippine government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front MILF peace panels.

The forging of the last annex of the FAB also paved the way for the MILF-led Bangsamoro Transition Commission, which already started its information campaign on the creation of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles said the government and MILF are expecting that the crafting of the BBL would be finished by March, after which it would be submitted to Congress as a priority bill.

The Bangsamoro region is set to replace the ARMM following the positive result of the negotiation between the Philippine government and the MILF.