By Brian Jules Campued
President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. over the weekend vowed to harness Basilan’s potential by making it a food and fisheries production center as he praised the recent peace initiatives in Mindanao.
“A province that was once tainted by violence and terrorism is now a zone of peace, made possible not by military might alone but more so by a people saying no to violence,” Marcos said during the “Panabang si Kasanyangan” peace offering ceremony in Sumisip on March 2.
Despite the progress of the peace efforts in the region, Marcos clarified that “the war against hunger” is another challenge to be addressed in order to ensure food security in the province.
“Ang kailangan lang ay tulungan ang Basilan para maging isang lubos na food and fisheries production center. Kasama niyo ang pambansang pamahalaan sa bagong hamon na hinaharap ninyo na ito,” the President added.
He emphasized that taking advantage of Basilan’s rich resources and talented people is the “key to enduring peace that is based on common progress and shared prosperity”.
“This makes Basilan no longer an island far south, but a very strategic island in the front and center of our national goals and our transformation,” Marcos remarked.
He said that once the province’s agri-fisheries potential are unlocked, the whole country will benefit.
Basilan, according to Malacañang, is home to rubber plantations in addition to copra and rice being its banner products.
Meanwhile, President Marcos also witnessed the decommissioning of 400 illegal firearms surrendered by former rebels amid the current peace efforts.
“Although the ceremonies that we have here is really very simple, it is symbolic, of a very important day because this is a testament to the commitment of all stakeholders to peace,” he told reporters during an interview following the event.
Marcos added that the government and its stakeholders are continuing their efforts to convince rebels to return to the fold of the law.
“And we, for our part, will continue to support everything that they need in terms of housing, in terms of livelihood, in terms of schools, in terms of infrastructure,” the Chief Executive said.
“As I said in my speech, when we talk about peace, it does not only mean the cessation of the violence, what it also means is that we continue–that we, the national government and the local governments, and the autonomous government, all work together to make sure that the livelihood and the progress will come to Basilan and all of the other provinces who are once areas of conflict,” he added.
Marcos also led the distribution of eight motorcycles donated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to former rebels to support their livelihood.
He attributed the peace efforts in the province to the provincial government, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, the community, religious leaders, and volunteers.
The President also thanked the Philippines’ international partners and allies, particularly the United Nations, the European Union, as well as the Japanese and Australian governments for their “unending support to the pursuit of a just and amicable peace”. – avds
