The Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) is midway into its fourth administration since being created by Republic Act (RA) 6734 in 1989. The current administration recently released the Regional Executive Agenda for Peace and Development, based on fundamental political, economic, and institutional reforms. The ARMM continues to be plagued by a high incidence of poverty, underdevelopment, and inefficient and ineffective service delivery to constituents. The five provinces of the ARMM were among the six lowest ranking provinces in the country in terms of the human development index, measured in 1997.2 The incidence of poverty in ARMM was 68.6% in 2000, compared to 42.2% for the rest of Mindanao and 34.2% for the country as a whole. The ARMM performs
worse on component measures such as literacy rate, infant mortality, maternal mortality and access to safe water. The ARMM has underdeveloped infrastructure, with only 50% of villages having access to electricity and only 62% with access to potable water. The ability of the region to generate investment has been falling since 1997, as has agricultural production, which is the mainstay of the rural economy. Continued security concerns arising from the activities of
terrorist groups and unpredictable peace negations between Government and the Moro-Islamic Liberation Front have further dampened investment and trade.
