EDITORIAL - Sustaining the momentum

If the administration is serious in its commitment to reduce poverty and fight terrorism, it should preserve the gains, however limited, that were achieved during the "Balikatan 2006" humanitarian mission conducted by Philippine and US troops in Sulu. Residents of Sulu gave US troops a warm sendoff at the conclusion of the mission the other day, displaying placards thanking the Americans and hoping for their return. The warmth did not seem contrived; the Americans left behind school buildings with computers and artesian wells, built by US and Philippine troops in just one month. Balikatan also provided medical and dental assistance to thousands of Sulu villagers and distributed millions of pesos worth of free medicine during two weeks of joint military exercises.

Those who gave the departing troops a fond farewell were hoping not so much for the return of American forces but for the continuation of the improvements that their presence had brought to the impoverished province. If those improvements can be sustained only with the help of foreigners, then the people of Sulu are ready to welcome Americans. By inviting US troops to the province, local officials had risked the ire of militant anti-American groups and the threat of attacks by the Abu Sayyaf. The officials, however, saw what development had done to nearby Basilan, which once served as the base of the Abu Sayyaf, and wanted Sulu to experience similar benefits.

Long a haven for pirates and other lawless elements, Sulu is one of the poorest provinces in the country. Lawlessness in the province is so rampant even aid workers and members of non-government organizations who can help bring development are reluctant to go to the islands of Sulu. The commander of US troops, Col. James Linder, said they went to Sulu in hopes of securing the environment to jumpstart development. This in turn will deprive terrorists and other lawless elements of sanctuary. Judging from the sendoff the other day, the people of Sulu liked peace and improvements in their lives. It will be up to the Philippine government to consolidate the gains of Balikatan and sustain the momentum of development.