‘P6-B ARMM projects to suffer if peace process fails’

COTABATO CITY, Philippines— A resumption of hostilities between the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) can imperil close to P6 billion worth of infrastructure projects in five provinces in Mindanao, an official said Thursday.

Hadji Emil Sadain, regional public works secretary of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), said most of the projects were designed to hasten normalcy in conflict-stricken Muslim communities.

“We will lose all these projects if war will erupt, if the peace process will collapse as a consequence of the Mamasapano incident,” Sadain said.

He said most of the ARMM’s projects, such as roads, barangay centers, bridges, ports and water systems are being implemented in remote areas of the region.

Sadain said his subordinates in Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi are against any resumption of hostilities between the government and the MILF.

He said he himself experienced the consequences of armed conflicts and how civilians could suffer from it.

He said his parents were forced to relocate from Jolo, the capital town of Sulu, to Zamboanga City to escape from the hostilities in 1970s.

There are more than P1 billion worth of ongoing projects in Maguindanao, Sadain said.

Maguindanao is a known MILF bastion, where the group has enclaves in all of its 36 towns.

Sadain said ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman has ordered the immediate construction of a P15-million bridge that would connect agricultural sites in Barangay Tukanalipao in Mamasapano.

The proposed bridge will replace the wooden footbridge located near the site of the battle between Special Action Force commandos and MILF guerrillas. Forty-four commandos were killed in the incident on Jan. 25.

Sadain said the government would construct a 1.5-kilometer road that would cut through farming enclaves in Barangay Tukanalipao.