3 Southern Mindanao towns forge trade ties with Indonesia

KORONADAL CITY — Three towns in Southern Mindanao have forged trade and security cooperation with neighboring Indonesian islands, Sarangani Gov. Miguel Rene Dominguez said yesterday.

The said towns are Jose Abad Santos (in Davao del Sur), Glan (in Sarangani), and the island-town of Sarangani (also in Davao del Sur), known commonly as the JAGS-Cooperation Triangle (CT).

Dominguez disclosed that while other local government units are looking North towards Central Manila, they are looking South to develop brotherhood among Asian countries, particularly Indonesia, to establish strong trade partnerships.

"Now we are seeing the need to look further south for economic development by trading with Indonesia," he said.

The governor mentioned the capability of JAGS-CT to provide "human resource capital for education and health care," and shipment of goods to the Sangil group of islands.

Sarangani municipality is only three hours by boat to the nearest Indonesian islands.

Glan Mayor Enrique Yap Jr. and Jose Abad Santos Mayor Alex Wangkay said JAGS-CT’s strategic location in the southernmost tip of Mindanao could "renew its age-old trade relation with Indonesia as a strategy to encourage cultural and economic activities."

Yap said JAGS-CT was organized in 2003 as a local initiative in support of the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-the Philippines-East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) economic cooperation.

Presidential Assistant Jesus Dureza commended local officials during his visit Thursday for taking the lead in economic development in the country, particularly in mainland Mindanao.

"We are modeling JAGS-CT by opening up BIMP-EAGA but at the same time (securing) our borders against terrorists," said Dureza, who chairs the Mindanao Economic Development Council and Philippine senior official for BIMP-EAGA.

"The cooperation that we are doing now on the ground is an example of how we can work together to counter terrorism," Dureza said.

He said terrorism is not just a problem in Indonesia or in Mindanao.

"It is an international problem. JAGS-CT will be a very good showcase of how we get people and the local governments to cooperate," Dureza added.

He acknowledged the support of Indonesian Consul General Ikon Mochamad Entjeng who went to Glan on Tuesday for the JAGS-CT Indonesian friendship games.

"We came here not caring about winning in the games but rather of winning deeper relationship with you, our Filipino brothers," the consul general said. 

Last January, Mayors Yap, Jerry Cawa of Sarangani, and Wangkay led a 13-man trade mission to Manado, Indonesia.

JAGS-CT targets Manado City as the main trading hub, Gorontalo province as a viable market for electronics, Bitung City for deep-sea fishing, and the regencies of Talaud and Sangir as markets for agri-fishery products.