VZCZCXRO8940
OO RUEHCHI RUEHFK RUEHHM RUEHKSO RUEHNAG RUEHPB
DE RUEHML #2447/01 3041031
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 301031Z OCT 08
FM AMEMBASSY MANILA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2210
INFO RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE
RUEHZU/ASIAN PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 002447 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EAP/MTS 
DEPT PASS TO USAID 
 
E.O. 12958:N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM RP
SUBJECT:  NEW PARTNERSHIPS IN REMOTE ISLANDS PAVE THE WAY FOR 
PROSPERITY, PEACE 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY: The DCM traveled October 21 to Tawi-Tawi -- an island 
province at the tip of Mindanao's terrorist-afflicted Sulu 
Archipelago -- and inaugurated four projects exemplifying the 
strength and diversity of Philippine-U.S. partnerships.  The Embassy 
sent an interagency team including USAID Director, Defense Attache, 
Joint Special Operations Task Force Philippines officials, and a 
Mindanao-focused Public Affairs officer to attend the ribbon-cutting 
events, where the DCM underscored that the USG remains steadfast in 
supporting collaborative projects in Mindanao.  The Philippine 
Deputy Advisor to the President on the Peace Process Nabil Tan and 
Philippine Armed Forces Deputy Commander for Western Mindanao 
Command Brigadier General Ramirez joined the Embassy group, which 
Tawi-Tawi Governor Sadikul Sahali and Bongao Mayor Albert Que 
greeted at the airport.  The DCM's interviews and appearance with 
officials received broad regional and national coverage on radio, 
print, and television. END SUMMARY. 
 
BRINGING DISTANT TAWI-TAWI CLOSER 
 
¶2.  Tawi-Tawi is a collection of islands lying within motorboat 
distance to Sabah, Malaysia.  It is a sparsely populated, poor 
province that is a traditional transit point for terrorists and 
smugglers operating in the Malaysia-Indonesia-Philippines region. 
The inter-island and cross-national barter trade has been 
historically very active and includes smuggling of black market 
goods.  Though underdeveloped, Tawi-Tawi has significant potential 
for growth in legitimate export businesses due to healthy fishing 
and seaweed industries and because it has suffered less conflict in 
the recent past than its neighbors in Basilan and Jolo.  The four 
projects visited create economic opportunities for all residents of 
Tawi-Tawi, open this smuggling point to the outside world, and 
demonstrate the USG's long-term commitment to peace and prosperity 
in the Philippines. 
 
INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS PROVIDE PATHS TO PROSPERITY 
 
¶3.  During the ribbon-cutting ceremony at Sanga Sanga Airport, the 
DCM remarked that the aim of the joint project between USAID and the 
provincial government was to widen the runway in order to land 
planes as big as a Boeing 737, which would facilitate tourism and 
the growth of exports.  Governor Sahali lauded the continued 
friendship and commitment of the USG and the American people.  The 
group reviewed the engineering plans, spoke to the media, and 
finally donned hardhats and mounted a bulldozer at the end of the 
runway for cameras. 
 
¶4.  At a separate event, the party inaugurated the Sanga Sanga Road 
Upgrade, which is part of a major USAID-Philippine government 
collaboration called the Tawi-Tawi Bridge-Road Partnership Project. 
Once the project is finished, a series of roads and bridges will 
link the most populous settlements of Tawi-Tawi to the Sanga Sanga 
Airport in Bongao.  Excited townspeople and media received the DCM, 
Governor and Mayor, who spoke to the crowd, celebrating the joint 
initiative's success in leveraging commitments that will 
dramatically improve the quality of life in Tawi-Tawi.  The DCM 
underscored that the arterial road, like the airport upgrade, will 
provide the groundwork for better access to markets and tourism, 
which support not only prosperity, but peace as well. 
 
BUILDING SCHOOLS AND TRUST 
 
¶5.  The DCM and party traveled with Undersecretary Tan, Armed Forces 
of the Philippines (AFP) Brigadier General Ramirez, and Governor 
Sahali by boat, operated by U.S. Joint Special Operations Task 
Force, to the remote town of Lapid Lapid where local officials and 
former Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) Commander Jum Dial 
greeted them.  The DCM cut a ribbon on a school building that had 
been entirely refurbished by U.S. and Philippine Seabees (naval 
construction battalions) and other military personnel.  BGen Ramirez 
noted that in Tawi-Tawi, as elsewhere in Mindanao, U.S. and 
Philippine personnel were cooperating smoothly and winning the trust 
of residents where terrorists and insurgent groups previously had 
significant influence.  The DCM thanked and commended the Philippine 
and U.S. military personnel for working together and making 
remarkable progress, for which the assembled townspeople expressed 
deep appreciation. 
 
¶6.  The DCM inaugurated another new school building at the Panglima 
Arasia Elementary School, which was completed thanks to an 
innovative USAID-Petron Foundation partnership that includes 
participation from Habitat for Humanity and other civil society 
groups.  A jubilant crowd braved sweltering sun to welcome the 
Embassy team, and the DCM remarked that the American people were 
pleased to offer their ongoing support for partnerships such as this 
that combine public, private, and civil society resources.  The 
project aims to build 60 such new classrooms and refurbish 480 
others.  As he did at each event, the DCM emphasized that the 
project was a joint effort designed to advance peace and prosperity 
 
MANILA 00002447  002 OF 002 
 
 
in the Philippines. 
 
 
Visit Embassy Manila's Classified SIPRNET website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eap/manila/index. cfm 
 
You can also access this site through the State Department's 
Classified SIPRNET website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov 
 
KENNEY