Revived SPDA needs P1.5 B

COTABATO CITY — The newly reactivated Southern Philippines Development Authority (SPDA) needs an initial grant of P1.5 billion to chart new growth blueprints for impoverished communities in Mindanao.

Zamzamin Ampatuan, SPDA executive director, said the agency needs the funds since it was removed from the list of government agencies funded under the General Appropriations Act when it was abolished two years ago.

"Although we may not be able to get right away the P.15 billion that we need, there is a presidential commitment to sustain the operations of the SPDA, which will focus on socio-economic concerns in poor Muslim communities in Mindanao," said Ampatuan, who took over as SPDA administrator last Oct. 1.

He said the SPDA will serve as an economic development arm of the Sept. 2, 1996 peace pact between the government and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

"But our focus is the promotion of sustainable development not solely for MNLF communities, but all other poor communities," he said.

Placed under the office of Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Jesus Dureza, the SPDA will operate as a "leaner, but very active" corporate entity, Ampatuan said.

Dureza and Deputy Presidential Assistant for Mindanao Virgilio Leyretana will help Ampatuan formulate programs needed to hasten the Mindanao peace process, which is centered on the socio-economic empowerment of marginalized sectors.

"The SPDA will go into investment generation and will be project-oriented. It will not be a picnic; we are going to roll our sleeves, rework on processes and ensure that we will develop and implement good and sound livelihood projects," said Ampatuan, former lead convenor of the National Anti-Poverty Commission.

President Arroyo deactivated the SPDA in 2002, through Executive Order No. 149, due to the squabbles of its officials then over administrative and fiscal matters. — With Edith Regalado