Moro datus to represent RP in Japan forum

COTABATO CITY — Two young Moro datus will represent the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to the first youth leaders forum in Japan, an event regional officials said will give them a chance to prove to the international community that there is now fragile peace in the ARMM.

ARMM Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan said his representatives to the Nov. 8 to 17 gathering of youth leaders in Tokyo were Ishak Mastura and Sajid Druz Ali, the region’s trade and agriculture secretaries, respectively. They will convince other participants to the forum that the autonomous region is now conducive for foreign-funded business ventures.

Mastura and Druz Ali, both still in their 30s, will participate in briefings on Japan’s humanitarian projects in different countries, including the Philippines.

Mastura said the Japanese government is now one of the biggest contributor of socio-economic grants to the ARMM, which covers Marawi City, Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, both in Central Mindanao, and the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

The Japanese government intensified its involvement in different humanitarian projects in the ARMM after the signing of the peace pact between the government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

Most MNLF camps of the MNLF are scattered in the ARMM.

Mastura said participants to the forum will be toured by the Japanese government to Kyoto, Kobe, Hiroshima, as exposure on Japan’s world renowned industries.