My Mindanao! MinDA STARTS SOCMED SHOW ON “BEAUTY & BOUNTY OF MINDANAO”

There is more to Mindanao than just the Marawi Siege, Maute, Abu Sayyaf, BIFF, New People’s Army and bombings.

In fact, these often highlighted names and incidents are just minor aberrations in the daily lives people of the southern islands which produce 56% of the total food requirements of the Philippines with an economic growth of 7.2%, almost two notches higher than the national record.

Yet, Mindanao and the southern islands get a pittance in the sharing of the national budget which only grew to 18% under the administration of the first President from the South, former Davao City Mayor Rody Duterte.

I attribute this lack of focus on the development of Mindanao to the absence of an in-depth knowledge of the potentials of the Southern Islands to contribute to national economic growth.

The lack of deeper knowledge of Mindanao and the fear created by the negative media reporting have also stunted the growth of the islands.

People, including economic investors, cringe at the mere mention of Sulu, Basilan, Marawi and Maguindanao.

Late last year, when I assumed the leadership of the Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA), I presented to the MinDA planning staff a concept to change people’s perspective of Mindanao through a social media campaign.

Next week, MinDA will launch a social media show titled “Beauty & Bounty of Mindanao.”

The show will feature the little known beauty and the economic potentials of Mindanao.

Since MinDA is a small agency with very limited funds, the show will use YouTube and Facebook in reaching out to those who would like to know more of Mindanao.

Our first feature will be the magical “Asik-Asik Falls” in Alamada, North Cotabato which is now considered as one of the world’s geological wonders.

Unlike other waterfalls where water drops from a cliff to a river below, “Asik-Asik” water gushes out of the sides of a cliff and sprinkles on the headwaters of Libungan River which flows down to the vast Liguasan Marsh.

Other features lined up are the Sheik Karim al Makhdum mosque in Simunul, Tawitawi, the oldest mosque in the Philippines established in 1380, exactly 141 years before Ferdinand Magellan was felled by Lapulapu’s “Kris” in Mactan Island; Tuna fishing and processing; the gas deposits of Liguasan Marsh; the Turtle Islands; and many more.

I will personally host the show and go to these areas to prove to viewers that there is really nothing to be afraid of in moving around Mindanao.

The “Asik-Asik Falls” will be featured on Feb. 9, Sunday, and every Sunday thereafter, a new documentary will be shown.

It is my hope that through these social media postings of the “Beauty & Bounty of Mindanao” documentaries, we will be able to project a new image for the Southern Islands.

Hopefully, this will result in greater attention given by our economic planners to the development of Mindanao so that the peace gains of the Duterte Administration will be sustained.

Kabay pa! Hinaut unta! Sya nawa! Inshallah!

(Photos of “Asik-Asik Falls” were downloaded from the websites of the Philippine News Agency and GMA Network News.)