ARMM gets P471-M investment

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – An all-Filipino mini-oil refinery registered a P471 million worth of investment in the oil-rich southern town of Tawi-Tawi.

The entry of the Southsea Industrial Energy Corp. had brought the total investment of the private investors in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to P6.5 billion this year, said Regional Gov. Mujiv Hataman

Hataman said the latest investment was approved during the joint board and management committee meeting by the ARMM’s Regional Board of Investment (RBOI) last Wednesday.

He said the company is the first of its kind mini-oil refinery in the Philippines, utilizing the latest technology from South Korea.

The project will include storage depots in Tubig-Indangan and Simunul.

The Department of Energy has yet to release the endorsement of the project which already received the provisional approval of the ARMM-RBOI.

The ARMM executive said at least 100 jobs would be generated when the mini-oil refinery commences its operations in the last quarter of 2017.

Lawyer Ishak Mastura, RBOI-ARMM chairman, said despite the uncertainty of the passage of the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law, the region continues to draw in more investments.

However, he said that apprehensions from investors due to a diluted BBL could also reduce the desired autonomy.

Currently, investors in the autonomous region are enjoying the simple process required to set up a business under the ARMM Organic Act.

The RBOI has recorded an increase of roughly 68 percent in the total value of investments, or P6.5 billion this year compared to last year’s P3.87 billion.

A total of 4,894 jobs, which is about 43 percent higher compared to last year’s 3,433, have been recorded this year.

This means that even with the delay in the passage of a BBL faithful to the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), the peace process will continue to bring stability to the region since both the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front are committed to fully implement CAB, Hataman added.