A man and a town
A man and a town
Posted 01:19am (Mla time) Jan 23, 2005
By Rina Jimenez-David
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A13 of the January 23, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
IN 2000 and then again in 2002, at the height of the military actions against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Central Mindanao, workers at the La Frutera Banana Plantation in Datu Paglas, Maguindanao, became restive. Many of them were, after all, former separatist rebels with the MILF and even the Moro National Liberation Front, and almost all of them were Muslims.
Hearing of the bombings and strafing in Buliok, and how thousands of residents-Christians, lumads and Muslims-were forced to flee to Pikit and Pagalungan, the men in the plantation gnashed their teeth in frustration, threatening to take up arms once more. But the late Hashim Salamat, then chair of the MILF, sent a message directing them not to leave their work in the plantation because it was just as important as the armed struggle.
Still, says Datu Ibrahim "Toto" Paglas III, former mayor of Datu Paglas (the town is named after his grandfather), the town was not spared the impact of the war. In 2000, more than a thousand families from the Ligwasan Marsh sought refuge there. In 2002, hearing of the plight of the war refugees, La Frutera employees brought relief goods, including bananas, to the evacuation centers. When the military raided a training camp of the MILF and found La Frutera bananas in the storage rooms, a general confronted Paglas, wanting to know why he was aiding and abetting the rebels. "I could only scratch my head and tell him their families must have given them to the rebels."
That is how Paglas, the moving spirit behind La Frutera, successfully plays a balancing game, running a successful agricultural export enterprise in one of the least developed corners of the country, and, as he puts it, "transforming a war zone to an economic zone."
* * *
FOR this feat, Paglas has been recognized both here and abroad for his leadership and the economic miracle he has pulled off.
He brings up his lack of a college degree so often in his speeches and conversations that one suspects he's actually proud of it. But unlike others-say, Erap who poked fun at educated people and downgraded the importance of schooling-Datu Toto earnestly declares that "education is the bottom line" in the race to address the economic problems that confront the country, most especially the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Though he ran for governor of the ARMM and lost to Parouk Hussin ("Would you believe I even supposedly lost in my own town?" he exclaims), Paglas, a former three-term mayor who was succeeded by his younger brother, Abubakar, better known as "Totoy," now rejects the political route to development. "We need to give our people economic opportunities," he says. "No matter how many peace accords they sign, it will all be a waste of ink if the warriors have nothing to go back to but poverty and hopelessness."
* * *
IN HER book "Jalan-jalan: A Journey through EAGA" (written with Criselda Yabes), Marites Danguilan Vitug describes the town of Datu Paglas as "a place made extraordinary by its people, inspired by a leader restless for change."
In his first term as mayor, Paglas concentrated on restoring or, perhaps, establishing, peace and order in his town. It had been the site of fighting between MNLF troops and soldiers since the 1970s, and became the stomping ground of cattle rustlers and highway robbers when the skirmishes quieted. There were also periodic outbreaks of "family feuds caused by land disputes, political rivalries, or personal animosities." Paglas, who stands at six feet and exudes a manly appeal, managed to tame the "wild" townsfolk mainly by proving that no one would be spared if he did wrong. "I wasn't afraid to arrest and punish even my own relatives," he recalls, which wasn't all that easy since everyone in the town is in some way related to him by blood or affinity.
After chasing the criminals away, Datu Toto then went after potential investors. In 1996, with the help of a sympathetic Ramos administration, he was able to bring in investors from Saudi Arabia and Italy, and even from Manila, and established La Frutera. Chiquita Banana brought in consultants from Panama and even Israel. Today, the company exports bananas under the brands Chiquita Banana and Unifrutti to the Middle East, Japan, Iran, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea. It has just established a foothold in China.
* * *
MORE important, La Frutera employs over 2,000 workers, 30 percent of whom are women (mostly in fruit-handling and packing), in its 1,200-hectare Datu Paglas plantation. It has also expanded to Bukidnon, where it leases a property planted to golden pineapple and white asparagus; as well as to Lanao del Sur.
The plantation has spawned a network of allied industries: a truck hauling service to bring the bananas to Davao, banana chips processing, a rural bank (a rarity in Muslim areas), motor repair shops, small restaurants and, of course, sari-sari stores.
Still, poverty persists in Datu Paglas despite the many signs of economic improvement. Which is why Datu Toto makes good use of the network he has built here and abroad to entice private investors as well as non-government organizations and international aid agencies to come to the aid of his town and region. When Paglas met Rina Lopez Bautista of the Knowledge Channel at a conference in Bangkok, the latter was so impressed that for the launching of their Team Mindanao project to bring education TV to schools in the ARMM, "we had no other site in mind but Datu Paglas."
Thanks to Datu Toto, the town and its leader will remain "top of mind" with whoever is looking for hope in the poorest part of Mindanao.
Posted 01:19am (Mla time) Jan 23, 2005
By Rina Jimenez-David
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A13 of the January 23, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer
IN 2000 and then again in 2002, at the height of the military actions against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Central Mindanao, workers at the La Frutera Banana Plantation in Datu Paglas, Maguindanao, became restive. Many of them were, after all, former separatist rebels with the MILF and even the Moro National Liberation Front, and almost all of them were Muslims.
Hearing of the bombings and strafing in Buliok, and how thousands of residents-Christians, lumads and Muslims-were forced to flee to Pikit and Pagalungan, the men in the plantation gnashed their teeth in frustration, threatening to take up arms once more. But the late Hashim Salamat, then chair of the MILF, sent a message directing them not to leave their work in the plantation because it was just as important as the armed struggle.
Still, says Datu Ibrahim "Toto" Paglas III, former mayor of Datu Paglas (the town is named after his grandfather), the town was not spared the impact of the war. In 2000, more than a thousand families from the Ligwasan Marsh sought refuge there. In 2002, hearing of the plight of the war refugees, La Frutera employees brought relief goods, including bananas, to the evacuation centers. When the military raided a training camp of the MILF and found La Frutera bananas in the storage rooms, a general confronted Paglas, wanting to know why he was aiding and abetting the rebels. "I could only scratch my head and tell him their families must have given them to the rebels."
That is how Paglas, the moving spirit behind La Frutera, successfully plays a balancing game, running a successful agricultural export enterprise in one of the least developed corners of the country, and, as he puts it, "transforming a war zone to an economic zone."
* * *
FOR this feat, Paglas has been recognized both here and abroad for his leadership and the economic miracle he has pulled off.
He brings up his lack of a college degree so often in his speeches and conversations that one suspects he's actually proud of it. But unlike others-say, Erap who poked fun at educated people and downgraded the importance of schooling-Datu Toto earnestly declares that "education is the bottom line" in the race to address the economic problems that confront the country, most especially the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Though he ran for governor of the ARMM and lost to Parouk Hussin ("Would you believe I even supposedly lost in my own town?" he exclaims), Paglas, a former three-term mayor who was succeeded by his younger brother, Abubakar, better known as "Totoy," now rejects the political route to development. "We need to give our people economic opportunities," he says. "No matter how many peace accords they sign, it will all be a waste of ink if the warriors have nothing to go back to but poverty and hopelessness."
* * *
IN HER book "Jalan-jalan: A Journey through EAGA" (written with Criselda Yabes), Marites Danguilan Vitug describes the town of Datu Paglas as "a place made extraordinary by its people, inspired by a leader restless for change."
In his first term as mayor, Paglas concentrated on restoring or, perhaps, establishing, peace and order in his town. It had been the site of fighting between MNLF troops and soldiers since the 1970s, and became the stomping ground of cattle rustlers and highway robbers when the skirmishes quieted. There were also periodic outbreaks of "family feuds caused by land disputes, political rivalries, or personal animosities." Paglas, who stands at six feet and exudes a manly appeal, managed to tame the "wild" townsfolk mainly by proving that no one would be spared if he did wrong. "I wasn't afraid to arrest and punish even my own relatives," he recalls, which wasn't all that easy since everyone in the town is in some way related to him by blood or affinity.
After chasing the criminals away, Datu Toto then went after potential investors. In 1996, with the help of a sympathetic Ramos administration, he was able to bring in investors from Saudi Arabia and Italy, and even from Manila, and established La Frutera. Chiquita Banana brought in consultants from Panama and even Israel. Today, the company exports bananas under the brands Chiquita Banana and Unifrutti to the Middle East, Japan, Iran, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea. It has just established a foothold in China.
* * *
MORE important, La Frutera employs over 2,000 workers, 30 percent of whom are women (mostly in fruit-handling and packing), in its 1,200-hectare Datu Paglas plantation. It has also expanded to Bukidnon, where it leases a property planted to golden pineapple and white asparagus; as well as to Lanao del Sur.
The plantation has spawned a network of allied industries: a truck hauling service to bring the bananas to Davao, banana chips processing, a rural bank (a rarity in Muslim areas), motor repair shops, small restaurants and, of course, sari-sari stores.
Still, poverty persists in Datu Paglas despite the many signs of economic improvement. Which is why Datu Toto makes good use of the network he has built here and abroad to entice private investors as well as non-government organizations and international aid agencies to come to the aid of his town and region. When Paglas met Rina Lopez Bautista of the Knowledge Channel at a conference in Bangkok, the latter was so impressed that for the launching of their Team Mindanao project to bring education TV to schools in the ARMM, "we had no other site in mind but Datu Paglas."
Thanks to Datu Toto, the town and its leader will remain "top of mind" with whoever is looking for hope in the poorest part of Mindanao.
posted by Dante at 2:40 PM
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