GMA wants ‘investment-defense force’ in South

TAGUM CITY – President Arroyo ordered yesterday the establishment of an “investment-defense force” to protect investments in Mindanao.

“We need to form an investment-defense force to protect investments, including power assets and mineral resources in Mindanao,” Mrs. Arroyo said.

The President cited the need for such a force to assure investors that it is safe to pour in their resources in Mindanao.

“We have the natural resources in Mindanao. But the NPA rebels impede the peace in Mindanao while terrorists stand in the way of peace in Mindanao,” she said.

Mrs. Arroyo said the perception of peace and order problems besetting the island has been an obstacle in luring more investors to the resource-rich island.

“We need peace. Peace will bring in a new era for Mindanao,” she told the more than 500 participants in the Southern Mindanao leg of the Local Peace and Security Assembly held at the Davao del Norte provincial government center yesterday afternoon.

Mrs. Arroyo first went to Gingoog City before arriving at around noon at the Davao International Airport. She then flew by helicopter to Kapalong town where she led the groundbreaking for a P1.5-billion, 57-kilometer road network that would connect the towns of Kapalong and Talaingod in Davao del Norte to Valencia City in Bukidnon.

She described the Kapalong-Talaingod-Valencia road network as part of the infrastructure investments that need to be protected so it could better serve commuters and traders plying the route.

The President said the investment-defense force shall provide the necessary “protective shield” from communist guerrillas and other rebel and terrorist groups operating in the South.