Mindanao Trust Fund gets add’l $5.25 M

MANILA, Philippines - The Mindanao Trust Fund (MTF) has received $5.25-million additional grant that will benefit 65 more villages in 21 conflict-affected in towns of Mindanao, a World Bank official said.

These communities will have access to funds for livelihood and small-scale infrastructure to help speed up reconstruction and create small businesses and jobs in the war-torn communities of Southern Mindanao.

World Bank country director Motoo Konishi said the additional financing comes at a critical juncture.

The recently signed framework agreement on Bangsamoro underscores the importance of intensifying socio-economic assistance to communities that have suffered from decades-old conflict, he said.

“This additional funding means that while the Philippine government and the MILF flesh out the details of the framework agreement on the negotiating table, the program will continue to deliver much needed services to conflict-affected communities,” Konishi added.

The World Bank is joined by several development partners which support the MTF, including the European Union, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency, the United States Agency for International Development, the Australian Agency for International Development, the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Canadian International Development Agency.

So far, the MTF completed 240 reconstruction and development projects, including classrooms, health stations, access roads, water supply systems, core shelters and community centers in 154 conflict-affected communities in 75 municipalities across Mindanao.

Under the program, residents of these communities choose and implement their own projects that enable them to recover from the conflict and improve their living conditions.

Besides funding projects identified by communities, part of the grant will be channeled through the International Labor Organization (ILO) to support livelihood activities. It will also provide skills training to help people secure steady employment.

The MTF works through the Bangsamoro Development Agency (BDA), the development arm of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), whose mandate is to determine, lead and manage relief, rehabilitation and development projects in conflict-affected areas in Mindanao.

“The MTF serves an important confidence-building role in bringing the government and the MILF together on development issues affecting the Bangsamoro,” said Dr. Saffrullah M. Dipatuan, chairman of the Bangsamoro Development Agency.

“The additional financing will boost our efforts to build the capacity of the BDA so that the MILF will have a core of technical experts in development on whom to draw following a peace agreement with the government.”