Duterte opens doors for Mindanao-Sabah barter trading
KOTA KINABALU: Although it has to wait until January 1 when Malaysia opens its side for the renewal of centuriesold commercial ties between the two areas, many Filipino traders including the public welcomed the Executive Order signed by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte reviving barter trade between Mindanao and Sabah.
In tandem with the Manila Government, Zambasulta (Zamboanga-Basilan-Sulu-TawiTawi) Traders Association said reviving the barter trade would not only create jobs and business opportunities but also strengthen trade and commerce among member-states of the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-MalaysiaPhilippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).
“It takes two to tango, so to speak. Both the Philippines and Malaysia need to have common mechanism to ensure the success of all trading activities starting January next year,” its president Faizal Jamalul said yesterday.
In welcoming Duterte’s Executive Order 64 which was signed on Oct 29 and announced to the public Wednesday, Jamalul said the revival of the barter trade in Mindanao would create employment and improve economic relations with nearby countries.
He said Executive Order 64 directs the revival of the barter trade, promotion of its growth and development, and creation of the Mindanao Barter Trade Council (MBC).
Consistent with the ten-point socio-economic agenda of the administration to promote rural and value chain development, the Zambasulta president said the revival of barter would not only create jobs and business opportunities, but would also strengthen trade and commerce between and among member-states of the BIMP-EAGA.
Jamalul said the Executive Order 64 created the Mindanao Barter Council to manage the barter trade until the establishment of the Bangsamoro government. Its functions include setting policies, guidelines and regulations.
The council, he said, comprises officials from MinDA, Department of Trade and Industry, Bureau of Customs and other agencies.
It might also invite representatives from among the Muslim ethnolinguistic groups, he added.
Citing the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement and the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, Jamalul said the Executive Order EO Lesley stated that member-states would eliminate import duties on several products traded within this region.
“But tariff protections and/or quantitative restrictions for certain goods such as rice, corn and sugar remain and traders must secure special import permits for these items.”
Barter ports, he said according to the Executive Order, would be established in the ports of Siasi and Jolo in Sulu, and Bongao in TawiTawi as the order requires that all “goods traded under the barter system shall enter the Philippine territory” only through these ports.
Creation of barter ports in other areas will be subject to the approval of the president but ports owned and operated by private individuals or entities will be excluded.
For systematic and streamlined processing of entry and exit of allowable goods, offices of BOC and Bureau of Internal Revenue should be established within the MBCaccredited ports, the association president explained.
Barter trading refers to the centuries-old practice when merchants directly exchanged goods for other items or services without using currencies.
The Sulu Archipelago became a major barter trading site long before the Spaniards came, with the Tausug establishing ties with their Southeast Asian neighbours and Chinese and European traders.
The name barter trade had stuck even if tradition had given way to commercial trading, Jamalul said.
The representative of the lone district of Iligan City Frederick Siao also welcomed the Executive Order saying that it will create employment and improve economic relations with neighbouring countries like Sabah in Malaysia.
“I welcome President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s Executive Order No. 64 formalizing the barter trade system in Mindanao because it will spur new business, create new jobs, and improve our economic ties with Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia,” Siao said.
“Resurgence of the barter trade will bring economic and social gains for my Iligan constituents and our neighbours in northern and western Mindanao,” Siao added.
Siao urged the Mindanao Barter Council to have the strictest import inspection systems to avoid trading of illegal drugs, explosives, armaments, ammunition and other contraband items.
“Never must the Mindanao Barter Council barter trade system be used by smugglers and terrorists,” he said.
“The valuation of rice traded via barter must incorporate the valuation of the rice tariffs of the national government. Mindanao barter rules must not be used to circumvent the national law of rice tariffs,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) executive director Romeo Montenegro said that Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal recently announced Malaysia would open its side in January 2019 yet after banning it two years ago.
Sometime in April 2016, Malaysia closed its border with southern Philippines after the Abu Sayyaf kidnapped four Malaysians off Sabah coast. The closure caused prices of food and petroleum to increase by 70%.
Mindanao Business Council chair Vicente T. Lao said barter trade can benefit seaweed producers from the provinces of Sulu and Tawi-Tawi because they had been selling their harvest to Malaysia that had a thriving tourism industry.
“Our Muslim brothers have been trading with Sabah for millennium already. This just formalized the trading that’s been going on there. I think this is good because anything that you can control and you can regulate would be better than just free for all,” he said.