COTABATO CITY – The Aquino administration envisions to reduce the poverty level in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the country’s poorest zone, by at least half within its six-year reign, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman announced here recently.

Soliman said the new leadership is determined to push for poverty-alleviating efforts across the country with a proposed budget of P29 billion in 2011, with ARMM as one of the focal areas.
Citing national statistics, Soliman said the ARMM poverty level is recorded at 56 percent, more than double the national poverty level of 32 percent.

ARMM officials led by acting Gov. Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong welcomed the announcement of Soliman, whom they honored with a pagana (thanksgiving) reception for gracing the country’s first regional advisory meeting here of the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) recently.

The 4Ps is a national strategy that taps various government line agencies to solve poverty incidence in the country, and is pursued by the Aquino administration to bring ARMM at par with other administrative regions, Soliman said.

“The present leadership desires to reduce poverty level in ARMM…It will be a success if we can bring the region’s poverty level down to 30 percent in six years,” she said.

In her speeches during two meetings here recently, Soliman acknowledged the laudable pace of peace and development efforts of the Adiong administration in the ARMM including the implementation of 4Ps which, she said, has gained a “satisfactory rating” from the World Bank (WB).

Soliman also cited the Adiong administration for spearheading government initiatives in sending home thousands of armed conflict-displaced residents in ARMM, notably those in Maguindanao that suffered the brunt of the breakout of atrocities between Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and military forces in 2008.

According to ARMM statistics, at least 5,414 evacuee-families has been sent home to their respective places of origin under the Adiong leadership with some 13,000 more families remaining at 51 evacuation centers in 10 towns to return home.

The evacuees came from 196 conflict-affected villages for which the government has built 46 return sites, the statistics said.

Incumbent ARMM officials steered by Regional Executive Secretary Naguib Sinarimbo have closely coordinated with the joint ceasefire committees of the government and MILF peace panels in sending home and rehabilitating evacuees.

During her two-day visit here, Soliman personally graced ceremonies on awarding some farmer-evacuees in Maguindanao with food packages and farm implements, which Sinarimbo said would hopefully help restore productivity among the refugees.