Economists review ARMM's economic programs & policies

Members of the Regional Economic Development Committee (REDC), a sectoral committee of the Regional Economic and Development Planning Board (REDPB) of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao came together on March 21, 2006 to discuss the newly reformulated Regional Economic Agenda and the possible integration of the Local Economic Development (LED) Framework into it.

The review and re-assessment of the region’s economic programs and policies have been among the priority directives of Regional Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan in a bid to effectively facilitate the economic development as well as address the pressing social issues in the ARMM.

According to Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)-ARMM Secretary Ishak Mastura the issue for ARMM line agencies has always been on how to efficiently coordinate and link up their programs and projects with the Local Government Units.

“The regional government is taking vital steps that would allow provincial and municipal government units in the ARMM to have more prominent roles in our development efforts. The encouragement and assistance we have been giving to harness the potentials of their leading local products and industries are just one of our initial steps,” said Regional Gov. Ampatuan.

Member agencies were asked to identify priority projects which can be complemented by the LGU facilitated LED Framework, a project under the Local Government Support Program for ARMM (LGSPA) of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and being undertaken in partnership with the DTI-ARMM.

The World Bank defines LED as “the process by which public, private and non-government sectors work collectively to create better conditions for economic growth and employment generation. The aim is to improve the quality of life for all.”

The project’s main objective is to provide support and assistance to LGUs in implementing strategic thrusts designed to improve the local economy and contribute to the alleviation of basic social problems such as poverty and the like. (BPI-ARMM)