Mindanao needs P350B annually
By ACE JUNE RELL S. PEREZ
MINDANAO needs at least P350 billion annual investments to improve education, health, livelihood, agriculture and infrastructure systems on the island, according to an international financial institution.
This can be shared investments by the national government, local government units and the private sector, said Karl Kendrick Chua, senior country economist of World Bank-Philippines and team leader of Mindanao Jobs Report (MJR) study, during last Friday’s Joint Enabling Secretariat – Inclusive Business in Mindanao (JES-IBIM) committee meeting at the Seda Abreeza Hotel in Davao City.
“Mindanao, as a whole, having been left out for a time in terms of development, needs some P350 billion budget annually for education, agriculture, healthcare, infrastructure and livelihood, With this investment, Mindanao can develop, grow and create better jobs for inclusive growth,” Chua said.
He said the amount can be achieved gradually and can be realized in maybe six years time.
Chua said one factor affecting investors and discouraging developments from coming in is the lack of farm-to-market roads citing that agriculture remains to be the island’s biggest area of concentration.
Chua presented that only 11 percent of the farmers in Mindanao fall under marketable surplus while 89 percent are on subsistence or near subsistence meaning majority of farmers cannot afford working because of poverty.
He recognized that in manufacturing industry there awaits opportunity for the island to be developed, Chua emphasized that investment should be poured in agriculture and improve the public education system which is seen to heighten their marketability.
“The poor and uneducated farmers might not land jobs in the manufacturing industry, especially high capital like steel and services, you leave out the Mindanawons who are poor and uneducated. They will not get jobs,” he added.
Paul G. Domiguez, chair of Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP-Mindanao), for his part, said that to create jobs, sustainable investments are needed.
Domiguez also pointed out that as most of the jobs are created by the private sector, government should invest to something the private sector can benefit therefore creating more jobs.
“The only way to create more jobs is to investments is through investments and as most of the jobs are created by private sector, the key is to ensure that the investment made by government will be public goods leading to private sector investments,” he said.
“When government made substantial investment in infrastructure in agri, roads, sea ports, it will elicit a very strong response by the private sector therefore growth will be noted,” Domiguez added.
Meanwhile, The WB Philippines is working on MJR report in partnership with PBSP and Mindanao Development Authority (Minda). It was started in January 2015 and will be completed in July 2016, just in time for the new administration.
The WB study is being eyed as the blueprint for better plans for the growth and development of Mindanao especially on jobs generation.
“The study will design to give a clearer vision for Mindanao and will somehow guide the next administration on what to put focus on the island especially in budget allocation because it is very important to manage and plan well where to invest,” Chua said.
MJR is a comprehensive package study that will summarize existing analytical work and undertake research on job creation in the Mindanao.
November 16, 2015