EDITORIAL - Development need not wait

The treacherous slaughter of 44 police commandos in Maguindanao may have derailed the peace process, but it should not derail development efforts in the Muslim region. Those efforts have been going on in earnest since the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao was created 25 years ago and officially inaugurated a year later, long before a formal peace treaty was finalized.

The development efforts were enhanced by the formal peace agreement signed in 1996 with the original secessionist group, the Moro National Liberation Front. This treaty is being set aside for the Aquino administration’s own peace initiative with the MNLF’s breakaway faction, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

A fully functioning autonomous government is in place in the ARMM, with a regional executive handpicked by President Aquino running the show. By most accounts, good governance initiatives of the administration have started paying off in the ARMM after years of corruption and mismanagement by the Ampatuan clan. With support from the national government, much can be done to improve lives in the ARMM even as the nation ponders the fate of the latest peace initiative.

Ongoing good governance initiatives are attracting investments in agribusiness, mining and other activities in the ARMM that can generate employment and revenue for one of the country’s poorest regions. Officials are exploring possibilities for making the ARMM a center for the production of certified halal food items for export and domestic consumption.

Tawi-Tawi, a component of the ARMM, is trying to revive its pearl industry and is boosting its shellfish and seafood production. There are groups promoting Basilan coffee and working to revive its rubber plantations.

The ARMM has its own police force and so-called force multipliers, tasked to keep the public safe, with the military involved in other security operations. A ceasefire remains in place with the MILF, which is still making noises about wanting peace despite the massacre in Mamasapano, Maguindanao. If all the agencies of government do their job, development of the ARMM can proceed in earnest, even as the peace process undergoes a reassessment.