Business leaders like Vicente Lao, chairman of the Mindanao Business Council agree to support the chance to achieve peace. Economic intervention, according to business leaders is the key to resolve the long conflict in Mindanao and they are pushing political leaders to grant the peace this country needs.
“We need investors to go in the area, we need employment opportunities and good governance and that cannot happen in the absence of peace. (Without peace), it would be difficult for us to bring investors,” Ramon Del Rosario Jr., chairman of the Makati Business Club (MBC) said.
The MBC together with the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) take the leadership role in the Philippine business community and foreign chambers that expressed support for the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), Tuesday. The business leaders submitted a joint statement calling for urgent action from the House and Senate to enact what they describe as an “acceptable and meaningful Bangsamoro Basic Law.”
The business leaders believe in genuine autonomy to exercise the right of Muslim Filipinos improving their socio-economic status that will be at par with the developments as seen in the rest of the country. “Peace has to be the foundation of development. Peace in the Bangsamoro and in Mindanao will open the whole area to much more significant economic activities and therefore, economic development,” del Rosario said.
In the statement released by the business group, they articulated the importance of full fiscal autonomy. “Full fiscal autonomy is essential. Thus, guided by the aim to guarantee the Bangsamoro economy’s stability and sustainability through the effective and responsible utilization of its resources, the Bangsamoro must have power over land, water and strategic minerals within its jurisdiction,” the statement reads.
In the same statement, the business group requested for a version of the BBL that is—
- consistent with the Constitution;
- adheres to the commitments contained in the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) and
- truly embodies the dreams and aspirations of Muslim Filipinos.
Source: Philippine Star
