02/12/2025
Speech: Mindanao Week of Peace 2025 on a Business Perspective
Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh. Buenas tardes, Magandang hapon to our leaders, friends, partners, and advocates of peace.
It is a profound honor to be present celebrating the Mindanao Week of Peace 2025โthis reminds us not only of how far we have come but of the precious value of what we hold in our hands today.
To our esteemed guests, fellow business leaders, civil society partners, and the uniformed personnel who continously guard our safety.
I would like to pay special recognition to a power couple who are not just leaders by title, but leaders by example. They have been instrumental in changing the very narrative of Basilanโfrom a story of conflict to a story of resilience and resurgence. I speak, of course, of our Honorable Mayor of Isabela City, Mayor Sitti Djalia Turabin-Hataman, and our tireless advocate for the Bangsamoro, our people's Governor Mujiv Hataman.
Mayor Dadah, your brand of governanceโrooted in compassion and transparencyโhas given the business sector the confidence to dream big. Gov Mujiv, your legislative work and advocacy for historical justice have laid the groundwork for the stability we enjoy. Your presence here signals that governance and commerce are united in this mission.
Friends, as President of the Chamber of Commerce, I deal with balance sheets, profit margins, and logistics every day. But if there is one currency that is more valuable than the Peso, it is Peace.
We must be honest about our history to appreciate our present. There was a time, not too long ago, when the "Basilan brand" was unfairly synonymous with danger. We remember the days when shops had to close by mid-afternoon, because a businessman was shot dead inside his own establishment. My family could attest to that, I personally could attest to that. Because we're victims too. We were impaired when the eldest of my mother was shot dead in one of our stores in the public market and more than a decade after our restaurant who stood for 60 years in the heart of Isabela was bombed and razed down by fire, from there it came to our end, the end of our family's business. When investors would politely decline our invitations, and when our children were told that their only future lay in leaving this island.
But look at us now. Look at this hall.
Amongst the many who fled and chose to leave, a few number stayed and we are thriving with dignity. Because we did not lose hope. A hope for Peace.
Today, thanks to the collective efforts of our security sector, our local government, the religious leaders, and our civil society like the Nagdilaab Foundation in the led by Miriam Dedette Suacito, whose dedication to peace have been relentless , the world is beginning to look at Basilan and see opportunity. The stigma is fading, replaced by the vibrant colors of our culture and the undeniable potential of our economy.
There is a saying in the business world that "capital is a coward"โit runs away from conflict. But I look around this hall, and I see that capital has become courageous. Why? Because we have laid a foundation of trust.
We often talk about the "Peace Dividend." Usually, people think this means government grants or aid. But the real peace dividend is much more tangible:
It is a coffee shop that stays open until 10PM to 12MD instead of closing at 5 PM, buzzing with young people discussing ideas, not conflict.
It is a tourist from Luzon booking a boat to Malamawi Beach or the rubber pl2antations without fear.
It is a farmer in the hinterlands freely transporting his rubber, copra, or coffee to the market without fear of extortion or crossfire.
This is the symbiosis we celebrate today. Peace allows business to function; but business helps peace to endure.
As business leaders, our role in Mindanao Week of Peace is crucial. Peace is not just signed on paper; it is sustained by putting food on the table.
When we open a new enterprise, we are not just generating profit; we are generating dignity. When we hire a young professional, we are giving them a stake in the future.
We know that poverty and lack of opportunity are the recruitment grounds for unrest. Therefore, every job we create is a blow against instability. Commerce is the cement that holds the bricks of peace together.
But I challenge my fellow chamber members today: Let us go beyond profit. Let us practice "Inclusive Peace." This means ensuring that our economic growth reaches the margins. Let us mentor the young entrepreneurs. Let us support the small suppliers. Let us ensure that as Basilan rises, no one is left behind.
I want to thank our leaders, like Mayor Dadah and Gov. Mujiv, for providing the climate where business can grow. You have focused on the "hardware" of peaceโthe infrastructure, the roads, the port improvements. But you have also nurtured the "software" of peaceโjustice, dialogue, and cultural pride.
Because of this, our job as investors has become easier. You built the roads; we will ensure that commerce travels on them. You secured the peace; we will ensure that prosperity thrives within it.
So, as we observe Mindanao Week of Peace, let this be the pledge of the Isabela de Basilan Chamber of Commerce:
We will continue to invest in our home. We will continue to rebrand Basilan not as a place of conflict, but as an island of innovation, hospitality, and abundance.
To the people outside Basilan, we can now say: Come to Basilan.
