DIPOLOG CITY (MindaNews / 29 July) – Traveling to Dipolog City, the provincial capital of Zamboanga del Norte, from Zamboanga City and passing through areas of Zamboanga Sibugay, as well as interacting with government officials and personnel to include those from Zamboanga del Sur, give us an opportunity to reflect on the differences between the regular administrative region articulated under Republic Act 7160 (Local Government Code) and our own Bangsamoro autonomous region stipulated in Republic Act 1054 (Bangsamoro Law).
Immediately, glaring is the fiscal advantage of the autonomous region with its annual block grant now at P85 billion-plus as stated in the Chief Minister’s 2023 Budget Message, which is not present in the regular administrative regions. However, despite this obvious advantage, local government personnel we have interacted with from the regular administration region are not in a rush to advocate to follow BARMM’s lead. It seems BARMM must demonstrate first that its model can work for the benefits of the people and the local governments. This will take a decade or two before autonomy as exemplified by the BARMM becomes a model for the rest of the country.
One noticeable feature going around Zamboanga Peninsula is the ease and safety of travel with a well-connected road network. We can now travel directly from Ipil (Zamboanga Sibugay) to Sindangan (Zamboanga del Norte) when before we must travel first to Pagadian City (Zamboanga del Sur) to reach Dipolog City in Zamboanga del Norte. Noticeable across the national highway in Zamboanga del Norte is its expansion from 2-lane to 4-lane expressway, and the old asphalts giving way to new concrete roads.
While there is a variety of commodities being pursued in the sense of being inclusive and taking advantage of local opportunities, the lack of economy of scale is one factor raised by a private sector member of the Regional Development Council (RDC) as to why the region can hardly compete in the market, Philippine-wise or overseas. Product development and value addition may not be as robust as can be observed in the products displayed at the Kinabayo Festival in Dapitan, with products from other provinces and cities actively competing with local ones. Importantly, agro-fishery development is closely tied and needs to be explicitly connected with their poverty reduction efforts.
Poverty continues to be one of the pressing challenges for Zamboanga Peninsula and the BARMM. BARMM leads in the highest subsistence incidence (SI) nationwide in three basic sectors – individuals living in urban areas, senior citizens, and migrant and formal sector workers. Zamboanga Peninsula leads in five basic sectors – farmers, fisherfolks, individuals living in rural areas, self-employed, youth and persons with disabilities. Any agro-fishery development efforts without these sectors in mind and without their recognition in the commodity ecosystem and their participation in the value chain will largely be economic development that favors the elites, rather than meaningful improvement in the lives of the society’s disadvantaged and marginalized sectors.
BARMM is aspiring to expand economic opportunities by revitalizing its historic barter trading as it launches anew in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi. The implementing rules and regulations had been laid down through the Bangsamoro Economic Zone Authority. Region IX is also aspiring to take advantage of the 29-year-old Brunei Darussalam–Indonesia–Malaysia–Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area cooperation initiative. Pagadian City is envisioning a direct trade and shipping route with Sabah, Malaysia. Zamboanga City has an existing monthly route with Sandakan on the Eastern coast of Sabah, Malaysia; however, current trading is heavily inbound. Meanwhile, traditional routes from Tawi-Tawi and Sulu exist. The BARMM insular provinces are also heavily dependent on imported Malaysian foodstuff.
In short, whether it is a regular administrative region or an autonomous region, the endgame of public administration is the people’s welfare. Between Zamboanga Peninsula, a regular administrative region, and BARMM, an autonomous region, which structure is best suited to poverty reduction and human security, in general? If BARMM can take advantage of its political transition and jumpstart economic development that will improve the quality of life of its basic sectors, it may be poised to become a real model for the entire country.
(MindaViews is the opinion section of MindaNews. Noor Saada is a Tausug of mixed ancestry—born in Jolo, Sulu, grew up in Tawi-Tawi, studied in Zamboanga and worked in Davao, Makati and Cotabato. He is a development worker and peace advocate, former Assistant Regional Secretary of the Department of Education in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, currently working as an independent consultant and is a member of an insider-mediation group that aims to promote intra-Moro dialogue.)