DAVAO CITY – Business leaders expect a surge of business investments in Mindanao following the lifting of Proclamation 55 issued by then President Rodrigo R. Duterte that put the entire island under a “state of national emergency on account of lawless violence.” Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) chair Mabel Sunga-Acosta said that Mindanao presents a “golden opportunity” for foreign investors to consider the island as a key investment destination as it has “stable peace” which the countryside requires to bring in developments. She said that this is a good signal to the international community “that there is no state of lawless violence anywhere in Mindanao.” President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. issued Proclamation 298 on July 25 after seeing that the prevailing conditions that prompted Proclamation 55 “have significantly mitigated or reduced.” The lifting was also intended to “boost economic activity and hasten the recovery of the local economy.” “This is very significant because it is an official document. It somehow strengthens our position as a player in the economy not only for the Philippines or for Mindanao but also for the international community because they will always look at this as a reference, especially for their travel advisories,” Acosta added. Arturo Milan, vice president for Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI)-Mindanao, said that lifting of Proclamation 55 is a “welcome development” as it would encourage more investors to have a look at Mindanao as a potential investment destination. He added that it would also boost the island’s economic recovery by changing Mindanao’s negative image to a positive one, so that more investments and tourists would be encouraged to come and create more employment opportunities and uplift the lives of the people. “This is the first step towards achieving the elusive peace that we have been dreaming about for Mindanao. The challenge is for each and every Mindanao to really work hard to sustain this…we need to be peace advocates as well,” he added. Antonio S. Peralta, executive director of the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines-Southern Mindanao, added that he anticipates more investment opportunities coming to Mindanao. He said the island is a “good place to do business.” “I look at it as – more from the business point of view – the untold story that there is really peace here in Mindanao. Unfortunately, it’s been overtaken by any negative news that may come out of events that we don’t foresee,” he said. He said business executives of multinational companies had difficulty visiting Mindanao due to the travel advisories issued by the embassies. “There is this travel advisory most of the time, all the time, insurance companies will not cover the travel of those executives that come here. That itself is one of the things that we hope will go away with the lifting of Proclamation 55,” he said. In a statement, Acosta said while Proclamation 55 provided “concrete measures to safeguard the peace and security in the island and the daily lives of every Mindanaoan, it also critically hampered other equally-important economic activities and opportunities, particularly tourist arrivals and investments in Mindanao.” She said that “the whole country suffered and lived with Covid-19 pandemic which also paralyzed heavily the local economy of Mindanao.” As the lead agency that provides strategic leadership on socio-economic development of Mindanao, she said MinDA has “seen and felt the immeasurable impacts of Proclamation 55 and Covid-19 on sustaining the socio-economic development across the island region.” “The business communities are saying they are finding difficulty in elevating the attractiveness of the island for investment and travel, amidst a generally peaceful and safe Mindanao,” she said. Milan said it was very difficult to invite foreign investors to come because of the travel advisories from embassies, including Australia, US, and some European countries. “This is really a struggle for investors to come. You know how important investments are in the development of Mindanao. And with the lifting, of course, this will not be an overnight thing,” he said. He added that developments would not come overnight “but progressively as we build on the positive image of Mindanao, then for sure, foreign investments will come.”