'US won't stop until Mindanao achieves peace'

DAVAO CITY, Philippines — There is no stopping American intervention in Mindanao until peace and development are finally achieved in the south.

“The Philippines will never see its great potential until Mindanao does. And that is important for America because the Philippines is one of our oldest allies and partners,” United States Ambassador to the Philippines Kristie Kenney told the batch of 25 new graduates of the Congressional Internship Program for Young Muslim Leaders (CIPYML) during a meeting held yesterday here at the Marco Polo Hotel.

Kenney said the US is bent on seeing the full potential of Mindanao through the various interventions and programs it has committed to implement in the south.

“And so, for us to see a third of this nation not achieving its potential, not living in peace, a third of this nation unable to see their products to market, unable to see their young leaders progressing, is for us not only a great heartache but in fact, it’s not good for America either here,” she said.

“America does a lot of business with the Philippines. We’d love to have Mindanao see more American businesses here, more investors here,” she added.

CIPYML is in fact, one of the programs the US government has been implementing for young Mindanao Muslim leaders through its lead program, the Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM).

“So for us, Mindanao is incredibly important. And as you know, that’s why we put about two-thirds of our development assistance into Mindanao, to help Mindanao achieve its great potential,” Kenney said.

The US ambassador stressed that it matters much for her country that Mindanao is peaceful and prosperous.

“Mindanao is a third of the territory of the Philippines which is at the same time the bread basket of the country. It is a territory that’s filled with natural resources, with a great cultural heritage, with extraordinary diversity,” she said.

But Kenney lamented that while the possibilities for Mindanao are exceptional, the perils are also great.

“Mindanao is the most conflict-affected area in the Philippines. It is therefore not as economically developed, as it should be. We all know – many of you do – you come from different parts of Mindanao that aren’t as well developed as they should be, for people don’t have the opportunities to succeed – either for security problems or lack of development,” she said.

The ambassador explained that until Mindanao achieves its potential, until it is peaceful and prosperous, it will be like an anchor dragging the rest of the Philippines down.

“It’s also not good for any of our security. Any day that there are bombings that go off as we’ve seen recently across Mindanao is a bad day for all of us,” she said.

The ambassador said that the importance of programs such as the CIPYML underscores the role of youth leaders in effecting positive change for Mindanao.

“And that’s why we come to you, because you all are the leaders, you are the next generation, you are our hope. You have been given great opportunities and you are now back in your communities looking at how you can push this sort of positive change. I’ve met a lot of you in person and I always come away inspired by your leadership talents and your vision for the future, and the ways that you can positively affect change,” Kenney said.