1997 - 2001

WHY USAID/OTI WAS IN PHILIPPINES

After years of negotiations, the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), the largest Muslim rebel group, signed a peace agreement in September 1996. The goal of the agreement was to improve government accountability and responsiveness to Muslim citizens, thereby bringing democracy and economic renewal to Mindanao. USAID/OTI began programming in the Philippines in 1997 to help with implementation of the peace agreement and prevent the outbreak of renewed violence.

USAID/OTI'S ROLE IN PHILIPPINES

USAID/OTI's program in Mindanao aimed to encourage the Philippine government's investment in neglected, Muslim areas and to reintegrate ex-combatants from the MNLF back into local communities.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

• The initial phase, which ran through March 1999, provided 4,000 ex-combatants and their families with agricultural livelihood assistance and literacy training.
• Phase two of the program, which ran through March 2001, helped villages receiving ex-combatants become more productive and self-sufficient. Assistance in this phase came in the form of post-harvest machinery, such as rice threshers and equipment for village-based infrastructure projects.