A Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) was signed on Tuesday between the ARMM Business Council (ABC) and the Bangsamoro Law & Policy Center (Moro Law), designating the latter as the ABS’s Research Affiliate with the facilitation of the Polloc Freeport as its first project.
The signing of the MOA took place during a back-to-back meeting of the First Special Regional Economic Development Council (REDC), a sectoral committee of the Regional Economic and Development Planning Board, and the Inter-Agency Levelling-Off Meeting on the Task Force Polloc Freeport.
Task Force Pollocport is an initiative of the REDC in support of the Regional Economic Agenda (REA) of ARMM Regional Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan as pronounced in his State of the Region Address (SORA).
Muslim Mindanao Act. No. 154 or better known as the Regional Economic Zone Authority (REZA) Law mandates the establishment of Polloc Freeport. REZA was signed into law on August 20, 2003.
ABC Incorporated is an umbrella organization of the chambers of commerce and industry, trade groups, and other cooperatives and business organizations in the region while the Moro Law, a non-government organization, is a research center focusing on peace and development issues affecting the muslim community in the autonomous region.
The MOA states that the Moro Law will facilitate the inter-agency implementation of the operationalization design for the Polloc Free Port. It should conduct research and studies; facilitate foras; seminars and workshops; write and draft position papers; secure grants and funding, either on its own or with the assistance of ABC from funding organizations and other agencies to defray the cost of its research and other activities and other activities that will assist the ABC and its members.
Executive Director Jose Mario Gana and Atty. Zainudin S. Malang are signatories to the MOA representing ABC and Moro Law respectively.
A presentation of the Moro Law showed the objectives of the operations of the Polloc Freeport Ecozone which aims to streamline, harmonize and consolidate procedures and regulations for the pre-entry and post-entry of goods into the Polloc Freeport and to create business-friendly regulatory environment, to incorporate good-governance principles in the procedures and regulations in the Polloc Freeport.
Department of Trade and Industry –ARMM Secretary Ishak Mastura said this will help level-off with the various agencies on their respective mandates and regulatory functions in the entry and exit of goods at the port and to seek ways to harmonize the same.
Mastura added that “we will follow all rules and regulations especially on the aspect of quarantine. We will protect the port. We will ban all the prohibited materials to enter our ports.”
Task Force Polloc include the departments of Trade & Industry, Agrarian Reform, Telecommunications, Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources, RPDO, Regional Ports and Management Authority, MARINA, Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Immigration, Bureau of Quarantine and Port of Polloc and Local Government Unit of Parang. (BPI-ARMM)
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