Help Mindanao ‘catch up,’ Aquino tells businessmen
President Benigno S. Aquino III. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
MANILA, Philippines – Vowing to transform Mindanao from a “land of promise to a land of promises fulfilled,” President Benigno Aquino III on Monday urged businesses to help the region develop.
“We must boost Midnanao’s capacity so they themselves may catch up and contribute to economic change,” he told around 500 people attending the launch of the Mindanao Inclusive Agribusiness Program.
The program was launched by the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) and other companies based in Mindanao.
Aquino, whose first job was under PBSP, said the company has been working for more than 40 years to give Filipinos “more dignified and productive lives.”
He said it was PBSP, which pioneered the idea of “inclusive business” by developing communities as business partners.
“The Mindanao Inclusive Agribusiness Program comes at an opportune time as we seek to transform Mindanao from a land of promise to a land of prmomise fulfilled,” said Aquino, who pushed for the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
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