'Great progress'
 18 March 2008

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In two words, that was how Mission Director Jon Lindborg of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) assessed our major infrastructure programs.

Commenting on our overall performance, he said, "Great progress!"

Mr. Lindborg and I, together with Sec. Jess Dureza, our Super Region champion for Mindanao, were at the 3rd National Government Infrastructure Forum held at the Marco Polo Hotel in Davao City. With us in the forum were Amb. Donald Dee of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Meneleo Carlos of the Export Development Corp.; Steven Rood, Mission Director of The Asia Foundation; John Forbes, Director, American Chamber of Commerce; Jun Nicdao, KBP Chairman and member of our PPS Steering Committee; Vicente Lao of the Mindanao Business Council; Commissioner Constancia de Guzman of the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission; and Usec. Virgilio Leyretana, Sr., Chairman, Mindanao Development Council.

Mr. Lindborg made that assessment taking off from the 2nd Infra Forum we held in Makati last year, where the Luzon Urban Beltway projects were featured.

At that time, when our Infrastructure Monitoring Task Force was slowly evolving into the Pro Performance System under a Steering Committee, our development partners were taking a wait-and-see attitude.

"There is room for optimism in the country," Mr. Lindborg was to say in Davao last Friday, an encouraging prognosis after barely 10 months from the Makati forum, and given all the bashing government gets.

We have 27 major infrastructure projects which will optimize Mindanao’s potential as an Agri-Fishery Export Zone in the South. The projects mainly consist of ports and airports, major roads and bridges, irrigation, etc.

Three projects -- the Diosdado Macapagal Bridge in Butuan, the 210 MW clean coal plant in Phividec and the 950 KV photovoltaic power plant in Cagayan de Oro City -- have been completed so far. Note that the latter two (2), clean coal and photovoltaic plants, represent green energy.

In addition, the government will complete 271 small irrigation projects, which will provide water to 11,191 hectares of farmland and 33 farm-to-market roads worth R252.59 million. While planned way ahead of the looming food security crisis, these projects should help us address our food supply problems.

Among the agreements reached at the forum was the fast-tracking of the completion of Padaga Bridge, on the strong representation of Gov. Douglas Cagas. Incidentally, to the LGU concern over their counterpart for infra projects, President Arroyo has made it set policy that for the 20 poorest provinces, mostly located in Mindanao, the national government will not wait for LGU counterpart funds to start the projects.

The Department of Agriculture will look into the comparative pricing of agricultural products between Mindanao and Luzon, especially in terms of proximity to the huge Metro Manila market, to recognize the cost of transport that could render Mindanao produce uncompetitive. Higher efficiencies in the RORO nautical highway should make Mindanao more competitive.

Mindanao’s vast open lands and Jathropha makes the island a rich source of alternative fuels, under intensified development efforts of PNOC-Alternative Fuels Corp. to tap idle lands.

As it turned out from the forum, Mindanao, too, suffers from undeserved negative perceptions, and the forum participants, numbering close to 300, committed to join forces in overturning the negative perceptions that hinder the island’s take off.

Vicente Lao, head of the Mindanao Business Council, exuded the confidence that will make Mindanao succeed.

Also at the forum, for the national government and LGU side, were: Gov. Loreto de Ocampos of Misamis Occidental; Gov. Douglas Cagas of Davao del Sur; Gov. Mohammad Dimaporo of Lanao del Norte; Vice Gov. Alex Calingasan of Bukidnon; Vice Gov. Elias dela Merced of Dinagat Island; and Southern Philippines Development Authority Chair Saeed Daof.

My good friend and media colleague, Domini M. Torrevillas, captured the essence of our infra program in the title of her column on the forum: "Building Bridges in Mindanao," she wrote.

Truly, when all the projects are completed, we will have economic, social, cultural and political bridges all over Mindanao, erasing the differences and divisions that have been a drag to our economy’s sustained growth.

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