MALUSO, Philippines, 17 October 2004 — Once feared because of its image as a stronghold of Abu Sayyaf extremists, Basilan Island in the southern Philippines is now considered a peaceful province and a growing economic hub.
And if provincial Gov. Wahab Akbar, a former Moro separatist leader, has his way, he would place the island’s 350,000 population under American sovereignty.
“If I have my way, I want Basilan to be part of the United States and we will call this great land the State of Basilan, then we can have better lives,” Akbar told Arab News on Wednesday.
Akbar made the statement as he welcomed US Ambassador to the Philippines Francis Ricciardone and party during their visit to the island to inspect projects being funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
“We are a little better now, in terms of economy, we are slowly and steadily picking up and thanks to the United States for its continued support to Basilan. I and my people are thankful to America,” Akbar said unabashedly.
Considered one of the 20 poorest provin-ces of the Philippines two years ago, Basilan this year ranked 18th of the country’s more than 70 provinces for revenue collection.
Ricciardone agreed that the island once ravaged by Abu Sayyaf ruthlessness is now on its way to economic prosperity.
“From the looks of it, Basilan is transformed. That’s what we have hoped, a combination of development assistance, working with the local government units, government agencies, non-government organizations and with the wise work of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines) that judiciously used their force against the bad elements,” Ricciardone told reporters.
Ricciardone and Andrew Natsios, USAID administrator, visited Maluso town where a port improvement is being implemented by the Growth Equity in Mindanao (GEM) thru USAID funding.
“The economy is coming up. Projects like these are intended to connect the islands, to connect the economy and the people prosper,” he said.
With the party were John Tsagronis, senior policy advisor of USAID in Washington; Eugene Martin, executive director of the US Institute of Peace; Jesus Dureza, Philippine presidential assistant for Mindanao; and Gov. Parouk Hussin of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Security was tight and Filipino soldiers guarded the port area where Natsios briefly spoke about the US support to help the Philippine government rehabilitate many poor provinces in the strife-ridden southern region.
“I have a message of peace from President George Bush and Secretary of State Collin Powell and we want to tell the Filipinos that the United States will continue to help the Philippines in terms of development projects. We are happy to help the Filipinos and through these development projects we will achieve peace,” Natsios told a huge crowd of civilians, mostly Muslims, gathered at the port.
Students carrying small American flags, lined up a dirt road where the US officials passed. They chanted the names of Ricciardone, some were saying “Long Live America.”
“We are here to see the projects and we hope to provide more assistance to the Filipino people. We are friends,” Ricciardone told reporters.
Ricciardone’s group also handed over computer sets to the Basilan National High School in Isabela City.
President Bush had earlier cited the southern Philippines as one of the biggest of his country’s battlegrounds against extremists.
The Abu Sayyaf had been linked to the Indonesia-based Jemaah islamiyah and the Al-Qaeda network, which have been blamed for numerous terror attacks all over the world.
In 2001 when Abu Sayaf gunmen were holding three Americans and several Filipinos in Basilan, Washington sent its special forces to train Filipino troops in the southern Philippines. At the same time, it sent military engineers to help improve Basilan’s infrastructure network.
Administrator Nastios of USAID noted that Basilan has now the biggest share of GEM-USAID community level projects in Mindanao. Of the 700 projects introduced and accomplished, Basilan got 200.
“We are here to emphasize this pledge and help to the Philippine government and help them to stabilize peace,” Nastios said.
Gov. Parouk Hussin also said that ARMM, known for its negative image as the “most troubled spot in the country, has become one of the provinces with the lowest crime rate based on the statistics of the Philippine National Police.”
Hussin is overseeing many of the USAID-funded projects, which includes electricity generation in the southernmost islands of Tawi-Tawi province.
(Additional input from Inquirer News Service)
