Western Basilan Alliance Pivots To New Opportunities

(L to R) MILG OIC Prov'l Dir Ra-Diya Akmad, MAFAR Prov'l Dir Hannie Junuban, IAG Exec Dir Atty Benedicto Bacani, Basilan Gov Jim Hataman, Maluso mayor Hanie Bud, Lantawan Mayor Nursiya Ismael, Hadji Muhtamad Mayor Nerwelyn Mansul and Sumisip administrator Nusra Hataman (representing Mayor Jul-Adnan Hataman) sign the MoA today, January 29, 2021, at the Provincial Capitol, Isabela City, Basilan, to formalize the establishment of the Western Basilan Alliance (WBA).

Isabela City, Basilan (January 29, 2021) - The municipalities of Hadji Muhtamad, Lantawan, Maluso and Sumisip in this province enters into a memorandum of agreement (moA) to formally establish the Western Basilan Alliance (WBA). Representing the municipalities are their respective mayors  - Nerwelyn Mansul (Hadji Muhtamad), Nursiya Ismael (Lantawan), Hanie Bud (Maluso) and Jul-Adnan Hataman (Sumisip). Witnessing this momentous occasion is no less than the alliance champion Basilan governor Hadjiman "Jim" Hataman-Salliman and the provincial directors of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Agrarian Reform (MAFAR) Hannie Junuban and Ministry of Interior and Local Government (MILG) Ra-Diya Akmad. 

With the MOA signed, the alliance can now explore how to harness and protect the myriad of ecosystems straddling the four municipalities. To manage these resources, WBA will leverage primarily on the ridge-to-river-to-reef or 3Rs approach, addressing at the same time key concerns like poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, prosperity, peace, and justice.

The MOA highlights the alliance’s vision for peace and prosperity, establishing WBA as a platform for consultation and development founded on good governance and a sustainable economy. The Local Government Code of 1991 states that local government units, through appropriate ordinances, may group themselves, consolidate or coordinate their efforts, services, and resources for purposes commonly beneficial to them.

Governor Hataman urged the mayors to move forward and use the alliance to help develop Basilan. “The important thing now is sustainability, giving substance [to WBA], and empowering the people economically, politically, culturally and socially,” he said.

Carlos Cavanillas, General-Coordinator of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) in the Philippines, hailed the institutionalization of WBA, noting that the “success of alliance-building requires a deep change of culture of the traditional way of government.”

“This kind of effort requires virtues. Patience to understand and to accept that your efforts need some time to materialize; seriousness to accomplish the commitment; ability to work and decide as a team; and humility to recognize that you are not the only one who is always right. We must understand though that this kind of initiative should be developed within the appropriate climate of peace and safety,” he added.

The Institute for Autonomy and Governance (IAG) through the Modeling Inter-LGU Alliance in Basilan (MILAB) project supported by AECID implemented capacity-building activities two years prior in preparation for the institutionalization of WBA as a model for participatory development and good governance. Knowledge and skills gained during this period pertain to critical ingredients in building and sustaining interlocal cooperation and the necessary legal, financial, and institutional requirements for operationalizing the alliance.