COTABATO CITY — Bangsamoro Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim proudly shared in his address before the members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) Parliament on Thursday, March 25, that the region is “indeed heading into the right direction.”
Ebrahim highlighted in his report the significant improvements in the economy of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
“The region’s economic annual average growth is at par with the national average. In 2020 we recorded -1.9 percent largely because of the pandemic, but this 1.9 percent contraction is the lowest decline among the regions in Mindanao,” said CM Ebrahim.
He also mentioned that over the past decades, the region’s economic landscape has significantly changed. In 2000, the then ARMM was mainly dependent on Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing (AFF) sector having 56.49%, followed by Services with 35.3%, and Industry with 8.13%.
This figure changed in 2020, wherein the sector of Services have overtaken the AFF with 39.24% and 36.18%, respectively, while the Industry sector is now at 24.58%.
While it seemingly appears that the region is moving into a more balanced economy, CM stressed that it is important to not forget the support and interventions for the farmers and fisherfolks.
“One of the lessons we learned during the height of the pandemic is the importance of agriculture and fisheries in sustaining our basic commodities. Let us not take this key sector of our economy for granted,” said Ebrahim.
Significant decrease in BARMM’s poverty incidence
Ebrahim said that based the latest report released by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), BARMM has recorded significant decrease in poverty incidence among families over the past three years: from 55.9% in 2018 to 39.4% in 2021.
In 2021, the region also recorded the highest and the only double-digit reduction in terms of poverty incidence in the whole country wherein 365,900 families are poor in the then ARMM in 2018, and this figure is down 247, 000 families in 2021.
“We achieved this despite the ongoing pandemic and despite undergoing the difficult transition period. Alhamdulillah. This is indeed a milestone which validates that when all things considered, we are indeed heading into the right direction,” said Ebrahim.
“The bigger challenge for us now is how to sustain this momentum and perhaps more importantly how we can make these figures felt by every Bangsamoro,” he added.
He also mentioned that in terms of poverty incidence per province from 2018-2021, Lanao del Sur had the most significant reduction from 68.0 to 11.4, followed by Basilan from 65.6 to 46.7, and Maguindanao from 48.6 to 37.1.
Sulu, however, had a slight increase in poverty incidence from 66.7 to 71.9, while Tawi-Tawi recorded an increase of 17.7 to 39.5.
“These figures give us the snapshot of our strengths and areas of improvement. Admittedly, it requires careful analysis to fully appreciate and validate the context and story behind this numbers,” Ebrahim said.
“There is a team that continuously looks into these concerns, and I also task the pertinent ministries and offices of the BARMM to carefully study the reasons behind these figures so that we can calibrate strategic interventions to ensure that no one will be left behind as we continue to move towards peace, justice, and development,” he added.
The chief minister also encouraged the parliament members to take the figures into utmost consideration whenever deliberating legislations. (Abdullah Matucan/BIO)
