Marcos eyes Basilan as food, fisheries production center

President Marcos wants to transform Basilan - a province once wracked by violence and terrorism - into a food and fisheries center of the country.

- Helen Flores & Roel Pareño

"Basilan's new role is now the war against hunger. You have a land area twice the size of Singapore, blessed with a rich soil, above all more or less typhoon-free, which makes you an ideal bulwark in our fight for food security," Marcos said during a peace offering ceremony held at the Kasanyangan Monument in Sumisip town yesterday.

"When your agri-fisheries potentials are unlocked, the whole country, not only Basilan, not only BARMM (Bangsamoro Administrative Region in Muslim Mindanao) but the whole country will benefit," the President said.

"Your future and fate are therefore intertwined with the nation's. Please be assured that we will play our role as partner of Basilan's great leap forward," he said.

Basilan is home to rubber plantations. Copra and rice are also the province's major produce and farmers' main source of income.

The President also vowed more assistance to rebels, including livelihood and housing, to convince more of them to return to the fold of the law.