Friday, July 13, 2007 Mindanao LGUs lauded for adopting upland dev’t model By Carlo P. Mallo
EUROPEAN Commission Ambassador to the Philippines Alistair MacDonald lauded the efforts of local government units (LGUs) in Mindanao in adopting a Sustainable Upland Development Model following the successful stint of the Upland Development Programme for more than eight years in Southern Mindanao. UDP is set to end on July 31.
In a press conference Wednesday, MacDonald said the UDP, an EC-funded program, and its partners in local and national government worked long and hard to help turn this into reality, referring to the promulgation of Executive Order No. 606, which calls for the replication of the Sustainable Upland Development Model in the Philippines.
"With this national policy in place, I am more confident than ever that even when UDP closes at the end of this month, the process of sustainable upland development in the Philippines will continue to be given importance which it truly requires," MacDonald said.
The League of Municipalities in the Philippines (LMP) has committed in replicating the program model in the various municipalities all over the country.
The Sustainable Upland Development Model was developed by UDP and the Department of Agriculture, funded by the European Commission.
The UDP started in 1999 and aims to develop and test a replicable model for sustainable management of the resource base in the uplands of Mindanao.
It is supported by a grant of P1.08 billion from the European Community. The programme is implemented in the upland municipalities in South Cotabato, Davao del Sur, Davao del Norte, Davao Oriental, Compostela Valley and Sarangani.
MacDonald underlined that the importance of UDP's achievements is more than just economic. "Working to reduce poverty means that you are also working to promote peace, and I would like to think that UDP has made a contribution in that respect also, in the areas in which it has been working," he said.
He said that the European Commission's cooperation in the Philippines is anchored on the fight against poverty, using as pillars the Millennium Development Goals. Looking forward, he said, "The EC intends to continue and build upon our support for these efforts, notably in the health sector and in our support for the peace process in Mindanao."
From 2007 to 2010, an indicative amount of some P3.8 billion has been set aside for development cooperation with the Philippines, representing a 20 percent increase from the previous programming period. (With Press release)
