DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 12 Feb) – President Benigno S. Aquino lauded better conditions in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in terms of economy, health, infrastructure, social services, and peace and security, citing the leadership of Governor Mujiv Hataman.
Speaking to the region’s LGU leaders at the 2nd ARMM Local Government Unit Summit on Governance and Development here today, Mr. Aquino noted that information from the Department of Health in ARMM said that 45,659 women have been given prenatal visits, with 36,765 given postpregnancy care and 14,179 infants being given newborn screening as of 2013.
He said that the Department of Social Welfare and Development has registered 389,656 new members of the government’s Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4P) at the start of 2014.
“The education and health conditions of your youth have been given more attention and they will be given a brighter future because of this,” the President said.
Mr. Aquino added that the government was aiming to equalize public service in different cities in the country, citing that the same health care that a patient gets in Quezon City should be available in Lamitan City in Basilan.
“If you study in a public school in Cebu, the same quality of education should be available in the municipality of Tubaran in Lanao del Sur. And if you are walking along a road in Mandaluyong, you should feel the same level of safety while traveling the municipality of Pandag in Maguindanao,” he stressed.
The ARMM’s economic performance also mirrored investor confidence in the region, Mr. Aquino said.
“Ayon po sa report mula kay Governor Mujiv Hataman, ang investments ninyo noong 2013, pumalo sa P1.46 billion. Mas mataas ito ng 157 percent kumpara sa P569 million na halaga ng investments noong 2012,” he said.
The President cited the investment on a nine-million-liter oil depot at the Port of Polloc in Maguindanao, among the region’s economic achievements.
He lauded the changes that have occurred in the latest incarnation of the ARMM, comparing it with how the region was perceived in the past.
Mr. Aquino said that compared with 2007 figures of declarations of failure of elections in 17 municipalities and 10 in 2010, there was only one precinct that declared this in 2013.
Election-related violence had also been reduced from 33 during the 2010 elections to 6 in 2013, he pointed out.
The President noted how the Office of the Regional Treasurer’s collection efforts in exceeding the P1.24-billion collection targets for 2013 by reaching P1.25 billion.
