Former terrorists to benefit from 7 Basilan irrigation projects

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — A senior official of the National Irrigation Administration and provincial leaders inaugurated Wednesday seven projects in Basilan, designed to boost productivity of farmers, among them hundreds of now reforming former Abu Sayyaf gunmen.

Engineer Czar Sulaik, who is NIA’s deputy administrator for engineering and operation, Basilan Gov. Jim Salliman and representatives from the police and military together turned over one after another the new irrigation facilities to beneficiary-communities in separate symbolic rites Wednesday.

Basilan never had such multi-million agriculture support facilities since it became a province in the 1970s, from what was known prior as Basilan City.

Sulaik and Salliman were accompanied in their tours to the project sites by Brig. Gen. Domingo Gobway of the Army’s 101st Infantry Brigade, senior officials of the Basilan Provincial Police Office and local executives from across the island province. 

The irrigation facilities are located in Tumahubong, Sumisip, in Pali, Maluso, in Makiri in Isabela City and in two other areas in Lamitan City.

 “We are glad that these projects have been done, knowing well how these can help local farmers have higher yields as a consequence of having their farms irrigated, Sulaik said.

The irrigation facilities were built together by NIA and the provincial government of Basilan.

Among the farmers to benefit from the facilities are more than 200 former members of the Abu Sayyaf who have returned to the fold of law through the efforts of Salliman and Basilan's congressional representative, Mujiv Hataman.

The two officials had secured, along with the provincial police and the military’s Western Mindanao Command, the surrender, via backchannel talks, of more than 300 local Abu Sayyaf members in the past five six years.

“We are grateful to the provincial and municipal officials who supported the implementation of these projects,” Sulaik said.

He said he was elated having personally seen, as he toured Basilan, along with Salliman, that there is peace now in the province, contrary to undue perception by outsiders that it is beset with serious security woes.