INVESTORS EYEING PAQUIBATO

With the recent developments in Paquibato District, investors are seeing new opportunities in the area

With the recent peace developments in the Paquibato District, local and foreign investors are eyeing to partner with the Indigenous Peoples (IPs) in the area.

“Mas ganahan sila [investors] na partnership with the tribu, they provide the funding and technology, sila tanan mag-provide didto then i-hire nila ang mga tao [and] they provide labor, land, and security (The investors were the ones who want a partnership with the IPs.

The investors will provide the funding and technology and others then they will hire the people there who will also provide labor, land and security),” lawyer Elisa Lapiña, Peace 911 focal person, said last yesterday, August 23, 2018.

“Daghan na ug proposals this time na among giisa-isa (There are a lot of proposals that we are looking one by one this time),” she added.

One proposal is from a Taiwanese company that has a local company on goat-farming, others are from Japanese investors and some are from Filipino investors.

On the other hand, Lapiña said that not all investors will be allowed since the LGU wants to allow only those businesses that are advantageous for the people in Paquibato District.

“If naay gusto musulod, check first the area if suitable sa business, second, dapat advantageous gyud sya sa mga tao kay dili ta gusto na ang atong mga taga-Paquibato kay ma-abuse na sad kay nahitabo na baya na before (If there are investors who want to enter, they should check first the area if suitable.

Second, it should be advantageous to the people of Paquibato because we do not want Paquibato to be abused again as it already happened before),” she said. /

“Mas ganahan sila [investors] na partnership with the tribu, they provide the funding and technology, sila tanan magprovide didto then i-hire nila ang mga tao [and] they provide labor, land and security." Lawyer Elisa Lapiña, Peace 911 focal person