Mindanao 2019
Martial law has been successful. The Department of Defense has proclaimed that they no longer need the powers of martial law. They have to be congratulated. That type of martial law has been good. It shows that martial law can be administered to help peace rather than oppression of people. What we need now is jobs in Mindanao. We have to give every able-bodied citizen a job so that he can support himself and his family. The soldiers of the insurgents are recruited by offering them jobs. We can give them better jobs.
There are many industries that we can support in Mindanao like rubber and bamboo industries that have huge markets waiting for supplies. Of course the banana and pineapple industries have long way to go in filling the big demand for their products. In the hills of Mindanao there are potentials for white potato and strawberry industries besides of course, what the indigenous people are used to, the abaca industry. There are other agricultural products waiting to be developed with the provision of farm-to-market roads and equipment.
There are thousands of hectares in the name of lumad tribes as ancestral domains but they need financing to develop them. They are rich with land resources but dying of hunger. They do not even have the funds to plant camote. A real possibility is following the example of Malaysia’s Felda. They do the planting and preparation of the agricultural products before they are allocated to the farmers who will then amortize the expenses incurred for the developing of the land. Malaysia developed about 2,000 hectares every year in this fashion and have been very successful. Mindanao is still the Promised Land. All we have to do is gather the resources that we need. And they are available.
Mining is still the promise of Mindanao. It has the power resources to provide for good mining. The first metal that is available is gold. We still smuggle thousands of ounces gold out of Mindanao. Then we have nickel which is of high grade in Mindanao. The minimum for nickel ore is. 5% if it is to be viable but we have huge deposits that go up to 2% grade of Nickel is needed all over the world for stainless steel. Then we have other metals like copper and iron that are still untouched.
The misunderstanding in mining is that it coops large areas of potential agricultural land. This is not the case. Large areas are needed only for searching for where the minerals are. But the actual mining areas are infinitesimal compared to the available land. Then good mining practices can recover this land for agricultural purposes after the minerals have been extracted. Mindanao has huge faults that go from north to south that have welled up these treasures ready for exploitation.
The recent earthquake disasters in Cotabato have brought out the good in many Filipinos. The major source of problems have been the mountain side that came down in Makilala.
Our building regulations, where they are followed, make it hardly possible for r structures to collapse. Minor damage can occur but in general our building codes make it unlikely that our building structures will collapse. Where there have been structures that collapse is where they have been negligent in following our building codes. We are in earthquake-prone islands and we have to anticipate this. The washing away of a mountain side is not something we can prevent but we have enough information to pinpoint where they are probable or even possible.
• Marawi is still waiting for rehabilitation. The destruction of Marawi is to be lamented but, in a sense, a blessing. Marawi was the main source of shabu and illegal drugs for half of Mindanao. Lawlessness abounded there, the climate of Marawi is excellent so that the Americans wanted to make it the capital of Mindanao, many American families were based in Marawi. Most of them have moved back to the United States. Even the half-breed Americans have mostly moved to the US.
Marawi can have a real new start in life. It has many natural resources that can still make it the capital of Mindanao.