(A look back on the year that was in Mindanao, and Mindanawons in the national and international scene.)

COTABATO CITY (MindaNews / 6 January) — The fledging Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) has surpassed its investment target months before the end of 2025, registering at least ₱5 billion worth of ventures from local and foreign investors in the entire year.

The Bangsamoro Board of Investments (BBOI), chaired by Mohamad Omar Pasigan, set out a target of attracting new investments worth ₱3 billion for 2025, which was breached in April.

The new investments registered from the start of 2025 until April, valued at ₱3.2 billion, are distributed across key sectors, including health care, agriculture and agribusiness, with projects focused on bamboo plantations and abaca fiber processing, according to the BBOI.

“This achievement highlights the growing appeal of the Bangsamoro region to investors,” Pasigan said.

With the Bangsamoro government under interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua, who assumed the post in March 2025 from Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim, the BBOI waged an “economic jihad (struggle)” to attract new investments.

The economic jihad is anchored on “moral governance,” the guiding principle observed by the Bangsamoro government initiated by Ebrahim and sustained by Macacua.

In April, the Koronadal Commercial Corp. (KCC) opened its 180,000-square-meter shopping mall to the public in Cotabato City, the seat of the BARMM government. Its Cotabato branch is the company’s largest mall in Mindanao. KCC also operates malls in the cities of Koronadal, General Santos and Zamboanga.

The opening of KCC Mall of Cotabato was widely seen by the Bangsamoro government as a magnet to attract more investments to the region.

Macacua stressed that the operation of KCC Mall of Cotabato “is a significant milestone for the economic growth and investment climate of the Bangsamoro region.”

Macacua, who graced the mall’s inauguration, noted that the start of its operations reflects “the trust of big investors in the region’s security and economic stability.”

“The opening of KCC Mall of Cotabato is not just about a new building — it is about opportunity, hope, and progress. This is a big win for the people,” Macacua said in his speech.

By July 2025, the new investments registered by the BBOI grew to ₱4 billion, with two new investors pouring ₱800 million in the coconut industry in Maguindanao del Sur and mass housing in Maguindanao del Norte.

Such milestone, Macacua noted, “is a strong sign that the Bangsamoro region is now being seen as a viable and trusted investment destination.”

“With moral governance as our foundation, we are proving that peace and development can go hand in hand. This milestone is part of our economic jihad — a peaceful struggle to uplift the lives of our people through honest governance and sustainable progress,” Macacua said in a statement.

Last July, the Ministry of Trade, Investments, and Tourism launched the Bangsamoro Investors’ Guidebook 2025 to lure more investors to locate in the region. The guidebook compiles key information on conducting business in the BARMM, including the general requirements and procedures on business registration, sectoral permits and licenses, as well as incentives for qualified businesses.

Pasigan noted the BBOI is aligning its efforts with the Bangsamoro Development Plan (BDP) 2023-2028 and the Strategic Investment Priority Plan (SIPP) in attracting investors to locate in the region.

He said that the agency wants to ensure that the economic progress “is inclusive, sustainable, and transformative for the entire Bangsamoro community.”

The BDP 2023-2028, which was adopted by the Bangsamoro Economic and Development Council and approved by the Bangsamoro Transition Authority or Bangsamoro Parliament in January 2023, is anchored on the Enhanced 12-Point Priority Agenda of the Bangsamoro government.

The Bangsamoro region’s identified key economic sectors or the “growth drivers” include agriculture, agribusiness, and fisheries, halal industry, tourism, energy and power, and logistics and transport, among others.

In October 2025, the BBOI announced that two new investments worth ₱1 billion were registered in the Bangsamoro region, bringing to ₱5 billion the value of large enterprises given accreditation by the agency.

“Reaching the ₱5-billion investment mark is not only a record-breaking figure, but also a validation that the economic jihad is transforming into a living reality that empowers our people and strengthens our regional economy,” Pasigan said in a statement.

The registration of the two new investments in October came on the heels of BARMM’s recognition as an emerging investment destination in Mindanao and in the country.

Data from the Philippine Statistics Authority in August 2025 showed that BARMM ranked second in Mindanao in approved investments, next only to the Davao Region, and placed within the top 10 regions nationwide for the second quarter of the year.

Among the investments registered last year by the BBOI are the Green Arrow Agri-Ventures in Amai Manabilang and the Card Islamic Bank in Marawi City (both in Lanao del Sur), the Southern Island Dev’t OPC, and the Center for Agriculture & Rural Development Mutual Benefit Association, Inc. (CARD-MBA).

Southern Island Dev’t OPC is a shipping firm seeking to serve Bongao in Tawi-Tawi, Lamitan in Basilan, Jolo in Sulu and Zamboanga City while CARD-MBA is an Islamic-compliant financial services project based in Cotabato City

“More investors have been signifying their interest to do business in the region,” Pasigan told MindaNews in October 2025.

In a statement, the BBOI stressed the new registered investments in 2025 reflect the “Bangsamoro region’s continued economic momentum and the increasing confidence of the private sector.”

The BARMM comprises the provinces of Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi, and the cities of Marawi, Lamitan and Cotabato. Sulu was excluded from BARMM through a ruling issued by the Supreme Court in September 2024.

The Bangsamoro region was established in 2019 following the ratification of Republic Act 11054 or the Organic Law for the BARMM, also called the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).

The creation of an autonomous Bangsamoro region was a key component of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro, which the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed in 2014 after 17 years of peace negotiations.

Macacua, the second BARMM interim chief minister, noted that when peace and good governance are in place, “development usually follows.”

 
“Investors come in when they see stability, potential, and reliable services,” he said.

In 2024, BBOI secured ₱4.7 billion in investments, exceeding the target of ₱2.6 billion. One of the major projects was the logistics warehouse of the newly-opened KCC Mall of Cotabato. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)