Daily Tribune (Philippines)

Look south and stop the election potion (2)

I still maintain that Mindanao remains to be the breadbaske­t of the country. If the incumbent President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is in earnest to pursue the country’s agricultur­al productivi­ty, then assign that Herculean task to the Mindanao Developmen­t Authority (MinDa) which is now chaired by Secretary Leo Tereso Abellera Magno. While our engagement with the BIMP EAGA countries is important, it’s about time that the shift of the vital functions of MinDa is on Mindanao’s agricultur­al developmen­t.

PBBM has the right man at the helm of

MinDa. Magno is not into politics and has been appointed to several government positions by previous administra­tions aside from his experience as a private corporate executive.

Having said that, President Marcos should provide MinDa with all the financial and other support mechanisms and maybe transfer some of the functions and facilities of NFA in Mindanao under MinDa.

Given the support needed, MinDa can incentiviz­e agricultur­al productivi­ty and slowly unshackle the country from dependence on importatio­n.

This was proven by the late president FEMSr in whose time the Philippine­s became a rice exporter.

So, save the country, Mr. President. Stop the rattling for war we never can win. Remember your father and your mom, the First Lady Imelda Marcos did the first and most successful diplomatic inroads with China when Chairman Mao was still in power. Your pictures as a young man are wellpreser­ved in the albums of the caretaker of the tomb of Sulu King Paduka Pahala in the City of Dezhou, China.

Look south. The soil in Mindanao is fertile, the seas around it abound with marine resources, there are gas and oil in the Sulu seas and Liguasan marsh and its rivers and lakes generate hydroelect­ricity that could provide additional power for Luzon if fully harnessed.

If those are not enough the memory of your father and his legacies are still engrained especially among us who grew up in the hinterland­s. For it was your great father who energized Mindanao by harnessing the potentials of Maria Cristina Falls, who establishe­d a concrete road network that linked provinces, cities, towns, and barrios in Mindanao and finally made the Philippine­s one island with the constructi­on of the Pan-Philippine Highway and the love bridge.

“Magno is not into politics and has been appointed to several government positions by previous administra­tions.

“While our engagement with the BIMP EAGA countries is important, it’s about time that the shift of the vital functions of MinDa is on Mindanao’s agricultur­al developmen­t.