NEWSFLASH

GOVT TO FINISH MAL-MAR IRRIGATION PROJECT W/ MILF'S COOPERATION

Malacanang, Jan. 29, 2000 - With the cooperation of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the government expects to complete within 17 months the Mal-Mar irrigation project to boost food productivity not only in the provinces of Maguindanao and North Cotabato but also in the whole Mindanao.

Secretary Roberto Aventajado, chairman of the presidential committee on flagship projects, said the project would also boost the peace process because this will address the root cause of insurgency, which is poverty.

"We will continue with the project and we will be completing this in 500 days. Actually, just last week, nagbigay ng (we were given the) notice to proceed," Aventajado said on JEEP ni Erap: Ang Pasada ng Pangulo, the weekly radio-TV program of President Joseph "Erap" Ejercito Estrada.

JEEP ni Erap is aired by the People’s Television Network Inc. (PTV-4), the Bureau of Broadcast Services-Radyo ng Bayan, dzMM, and ABS-CBN News Channel.

Aventajado said after talks with local MILF commanders in the area, he was able to convince them of the President’s sincerity in uplifting the lives of Mindanao’s residents.

The MILF commanders, he added, promised to support the Mal-mar project and to safeguard it. Aventajado said he would meet with them again next week.

The Mal-Mar (Malitubog-Maridagao) irrigation project is expected to benefit thousands of farmers in North Cotabato and Maguindanao.

Such a development, Aventajado said, is a bonus of sorts for the peace process between the government and the MILF, which opened formal peace negotiations after talks with the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) succeeded in 1996.

"Ang pangako nila hindi raw lang nila susuportahan ang proyekto, proprotektahan pa nila. Of course, hindi naman nangangahulugan sila magbabantay. Since it’s a government project nandoon ang ating pamahalaaan represented by the AFP in the area (They promised not just to support the project, but also to protect it. But this is a government project so our Armed Forces personnel will be at the helm in safeguarding the project)," he said.

The Malmar irrigation project, Aventajado said, started during the Aquino administration and is now 24 percent complete.

He noted the project, which involved a P760 million loan from Japan, was stopped several times because of armed clashes between government and MILF troops in the area.

But he said President Estrada wants the project completed immediately because he wants to address poverty in Mindanao , which he earlier identified as the root cause of insurgency.

The President won the 1998 elections on a pro-poor platform, Aventajado noted.

"Napakahalaga nito sa buong area na sine-service niya dahil ika nga isa ito sa mga magugulo nating areas at ito ay talagang hinikayat ni President Estrada sa flagship committee na masiguro ang proper implementation ng project. Dahil ito may kinalaman sa peace process natin with the MILF (This project is very important because it is located in one of our problem areas. President realizes the significance of the project. He wants it properly implemented, because this will also have a positive impact on the peace process)," he said.