DAVAO CITY – Secretary Emmanuel Piñol has announced basic steps necessary for successful implementation of lofty priorities and projects programmed by the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), his new turf.
In formal rite marking his official takeover of the MinDA leadership from Officer-in-Charge Nathaniel Dalumpines on Monday here, Piñol underscored the need for the agency to address first issues on poverty, productivity and peace (3Ps) that have long stunted public and private sectors’ efforts in turning Mindanao into “Land of Fulfilled Promise.”
MinDA has four existing priority projects pending implementation- the Mindanao Railway Project, the Tawi-Tawi Free Port, the trading program in the Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippine East ASEAN Growth Area or BIMP-EAGA, and the operationalization of revived Sabah-Mindanao Barter Trade, among others.
“The (priority) plans and programs are admirable with grand projects and ambitious targets. The questions which beg for answers are: Where are we now? How far have we gone in implementing these grandiose plans? What keeps us from realizing these dreams?” Piñol asked in his speech before foreign and local dignitaries at the ceremony.
“I do not believe that there was a careful study on the sustainability of the project. I suspect that there was simply no in-depth evaluation on whether there were sufficient products to be traded,” Piñol said, referring particularly to the stunted Davao-Bitung Shipping Route launched two years ago by President Duterte and Indonesia President Joko Widodo.
He said the shipping trade route should sustain two-way carriage of products, not one way for influx of goods from Indonesia without outflow of products from Philippines.
Piñol pointed out that because Philippines is an agricultural country, exportable goods would be more of agriculture-based products.
And agricultural productivity can happen to alleviate poverty among farmers when their communities achieve stable peace, he said.
“The big dream to develop Mindanao and encourage more investments will never come true if we do not have the needed infrastructure such as good farm-to-market roads and structured institutional support packages for farmers, Piñol said. (Ali Macabalang)
