INCLUSIVE GROWTH

The Mindanao Development 2030 plan aims to promote inclusive growth for all people in Mindanao from all sectors

Inclusive growth for all people in Mindanao from all sectors must be the priority in terms of creating plans in developing the island, a government official said.

Mindanao Development Authority (Minda) executive director Janet Lopoz said during their discussion on the Mindanao Development 2030 that strategies on bringing employment to Mindanaons must also be checked in order to see who really gets to benefit economic development in Mindanao.

“Questions on the quality of employment we are generating were addressed during the meeting, whether it’s a kind of employment which provides income to a few, or a kind of employment which benefits a larger community,” Lopoz said.

Lopoz added the meeting was a good avenue in addressing the issue on inclusivity.

Lopoz said President Rodrigo Duterte was strategic enough in securing development in Mindanao through his projects.

“He is putting up infrastructures through the ‘Build Build Build’ in the Mindanao Development Corridors integrating Mindanao, and lowering the cost of business,” Lopoz said.

Lopoz added president Duterte also prepared projects in including low-income communities in Mindanao.

“But in order to narrow development gap, he made sure that the poorest and vulnerable communities are able to capture economic opportunities like the barter trade,” Lopoz said, adding the future economic investments which Tawi-Tawi economic zone will attract along the Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi regions where practice of barter trade is still very much relevant.

“So if you notice the president’s strategy, he is putting the elements which are strategic: for the vulnerable, the barter trade and the agro-ecozones; for the whole of Mindanao, increasing power; and that will not be sustainable without changing the form of government which federalism,” Lopoz said.

Lopoz added in this way, decreasing poverty incidents can be achieved.

The Mindanao 2030 (M2030) is an updated version of its predecessor Mindanao 2020, a vision of the Mindanaons, timeframe 2011-2030. The M2030 is the new peace and development framework plan. It was updated last May 2018 in order to assess objectives of M2020. With this revised version, M2030 aims for more inclusive growth.