RBOI-ARMM visits Bukidnon to study investment practices
Economic News • 15:46 PM Thu Mar 9, 2017
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By:
Kate L. Castillon/NDU-BA Comm
COTABATO CITY– A delegation from the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao regional government led by the Regional
Board of Investments (RBOI) visited Bukidnon on March 6 to 9 to learn about
ethical investment practices through a study trip facilitated by Hineleban
Foundation Incorporated (HFI).
HFI has worked with Unifrutti
Philippines Inc., which recorded the biggest foreign investment in the ARMM in
2015 with a P3.7 billion banana plantation in Maguindanao Province.
The educational trip is part of the
capability building component of the Brokering Business Investments in the
Bangsamoro to Achieve Inclusive Development and Growth or BRIDGe Project which
is being implemented by the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) and
Hineleban Foundation Inc. in collaboration with RBOI-ARMM.
RBOI Chairman, lawyer Ishak V. Mastura,
said that the activity is an initial step of the documentation process for the
setting up of the Business Sustainability Framework in the Bangsamoro (BSFB),
the backbone of the BRIDGe Project.
The BSFB intends to strengthen the
capacity of RBOI to facilitate the development of the Bangsamoro-specific
business investment standards and protocols that will empower both the
communities and business to engage into sustainable business enterprise,
Mastura said.
ARMM Regional Governor Mujiv Hataman views
the BRIDGe project as a milestone accomplishment of his administration, saying it’s
about time sustainable and responsible agribusiness investments are made in the
ARMM.
The trip was highlighted by community
interactions and field visits to Unifrutti’s assisted projects through HFI
particularly at Tuminugan Farm where the participants were exposed to coffee,
reforestation, bamboo and demo farm projects. Also in the itinerary was a visit
to Tagbak Food Security Project.
Relevant ARMM agencies which also make
up the Economic Growth and Linkage Cluster (EGL) such as the Department of
Trade and Industry (DTI), Department of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR), Regional Planning and Development Office (RPDO) and Cooperative
Development Authority (CDA) also joined the benchmarking initiative. Kate L. Castillon/NDU-BA Comm