International fund agencies back Mindanao development

International funding agencies and foreign governments involved in official development assistance (ODA) programs in the Philippines remain upbeat on the comprehensive peace process in Mindanao, a Malacañang official said yesterday.

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Secretary Hermogenes Esperon said representatives from the international donor community reiterated their commitment to support development in southern Philippines during the 7th Mindanao Working Group at the Manila Pavilion held on Thursday.

Representatives from Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Spain, the United States, European Commission, the World Bank, and the United Nations and its affiliate agencies attended the conference.

Mary Judd, coordinator of local programs of the WB for Mindanao, said her office has been providing support to projects in the areas of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Judd said basic services had been provided to more than 600 barangays and 108 municipalities in the region using the community-driven development or CDD approach.

“We want to preserve the gains of the last few years and do more,” a statement from the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process quoted Judd as saying.

Esperon cited the contributions of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in the Philippines.

He also reiterated the new peace paradigm under the administration of President Arroyo on authentic dialogues and community consultations as the new paradigm on the peace process.

“There should be a meaningful dialogue, where areas are secure and the people are deemed safe, and wherein responsible elements of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front have regained control (of their recalcitrant forces),” he said.

“In the conduct of dialogues, they need not be armed for them to achieve their aspirations,” Esperon said of the MILF.  He said the dialogues should include not just the religious sector, non-government organizations, and local governments, but also the Lumads or the indigenous peoples, and even the MILF.

He said the peace process with the MILF is still on and must continue, adding that the efforts of the national government are towards the attainment of peace in Mindanao.   – With Jose Rodel Clapano