Mainstreaming Bimp-Eaga, a problem waiting to be addressed (2)

By Walter Balane
of Mindanews

2nd of three parts

MALAYBALAY City–Increasing local government engagement is one of the goals of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) integration, specifically in the Brunei Indonesia Malaysia and Philippines-East Asean Growth Area (Bimp-Eaga). But local governments outside of the key areas are not directly engaged.

Jezreel Mangubat, Bukidnon Provincial Planning and Development Acting Coordinator, said this is unfortunate because provinces like Bukidnon have vast potential of participation in regional integration through trade, tourism and agricultureelated industries.

Romeo Montenegro, Mindanao Development Authority assistant secretary, said Asean integration offers local governments a chance to promote themselves and improve their competitiveness as they set sights on a larger market for their products.

But he said given the varying capacities of LGUs, the challenge is that some may be left behind if not assisted.

“Local officials have to ensure that their areas are competitive enough to fully take advantage of the opportunities of economic integration,” he added.

This is where national government offices, like the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), need to pursue efforts to mainstream LGUs, he added.

“More concretely in assisting them put together programs and projects that make them direct participants to cross-border socio-cultural and economic interchange,” he added.

DILG Undersecretary Austere Panadero said LGUs need to be equipped with the right knowledge and instill in them the value of being part of the Asean Economic Commuinity (AEC), as quoted in the DILG website. He said during the “Forum on Asean Economic Integration: The Role of Local Governments” that there is a need to streamline the roles of all who are involved in the process to enhance capacities to support local and small and medium enterprises.

But Bruce Augusto Colao, then provincial director of DILG-Bukidnon said in Sept. 4 that mainstreaming is yet to reach the provincial level.

Undersecretary Zenaida

Cuison-Maglaya of the Department of Trade and Industry said in a decentralization forum in 2015 that the national government is dependent on local government units to provide better support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Abaca-based handicrafts have been identified as the focus in the one-town one-product (Otop) of Malaybalay City, the capital of Bukidnon,  the only major producer of abaca in northern Mindanao.

Under President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (2001 to 2010), the government developed Otop to promote goods and products of Filipino towns, cities, and regions, and provided funding for small businesses.  The project was expected to end in 2010, but the Aquino administration continued it.

Under President Duterte, Otop continues as “Otop Next Gen.” But according to DTI, it focuses on scaling up micro, small and medium enterprises in terms of branding and marketing.

According to the Philippine Fiber Industry Development Authority (Phildida), export earnings from abaca products went up 17 percent in the first 10 months of 2016 despite a slight decrease in volume demand from major markets.

Abaca export sales reached $113.5 million from January to October last year compared to $97 million in the same period in 2015, according to a philstar.com report.

Abaca pulp accounted for $78.5 million of total exports, up 18 percent year on year. Shipments to Europe fell three percent to 13,721.8 metric tons (mt), while shipment volume to Asia declined 13 percent to 3,181.3 mt. The US purchased 2,338 mt or nearly double last year’s level.

But timely interventions have to be undertaken for the fiber industry in the province if it is to sustain its niche in the region, according to the Regional Abaca Industry Background.

Bukidnon’s average yield is comparatively lower than other major abaca producing provinces such as Catanduanes and Surigao del Sur.

“It is therefore important that areas of abaca plantation that need rehabilitation and expansion be provided with access to high yielding varieties and disease and pest resistant varieties,” according to the primer. The PhilFIDA and the Provincial Government of Bukidnon have to consider this intervention as part of the investments that have to be pursued.

Accordingly, better farm to market roads is important in having an enabling environment.

Mangubat said the provincial government has included abaca in its Commodity Investment Plan in terms of farm to market roads, thanks to the World Bank-funded Philippine Rural Development Project (PDRP). He said cooperatives and other people’s organizations may propose financing plans but there were only proposals for coffee and cacao.

For abaca, he said farmers and weavers may apply for the provincial government’s livelihood projects, under Economic Services program, one of its seven pillars of governance.

But there is more to what ails the abaca industry.

Genevieve Labadan, enterprise development officer of the Non-Timber Forest Products-Task Force, which operates a network of abaca textile weavers in the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia, said the core issue for them as of now is the quality of their product.

“We can catch up with quantity and talent but not yet ready quality-wise,” she said in a telephone interview.

In 2011, the group was able to organize 100 women weavers from six barangays, including Manalog, for the mass production of naturally dyed abaca cloth or hinabol for export to a United States-based firm. They produced a total of 14,004 meters of hinabol and shipped 4,277 to the US. The rest were absorbed by a local center for value addition, according to Not By Timber Alone newsletter in 2012.

Labadan said they had to stop taking orders pending standardization.

Groups of weavers in Manalog and two other villages in Impasug-ong town are now applying standards set through their project Good Hinabi Practices to make sure they can stand out in the international market.

“We are specifically aiming at becoming Asean Economic Community ready,” she added.

NTFP-TF, she said, works with national agencies but they have already started working with LGUs at the ground level to seek their support in promoting the standards.

Junar Merla, a senior development specialist of DTI-Bukidnon said the city of Malaybalay, too, provided support for plant materials and training for the abaca growers. LGUs should engage in product development and promotion of abaca products because they have more resources, he said.

In Libanda’s village in Manalog, there are two sets of abaca textile weavers: one organized by a non-government organization, NTFP-TF, which coordinates with national and local agencies to help local crafts gain access to the international market, and the other, which comprises the majority — unorganized local weavers who are home-based and have no access to financing or other support.

The same is true with abaca farmers.

It was the military that set up the 40-member Manalog Abaca Planters Association after a recent encounter with the rebels in the area. But the group said they have to address disease plaguing the plants. They need technical assistance, aside from seeds and fertilizer.

The group also sought help to buy a machine used to extract hemp.  But Lerio Libanda, head of the newly formed group said they hope to get support from the local government and other agencies even if there is no trouble.

“We need it to earn a living here,” he added. (to be concluded)