Framework up for barter trading in Mindanao

DAVAO CITY -- The Mindanao Barter Trade Council is set to convene to hammer out regulations that will provide a framework for barter trading activities on the island, an official said.

Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Assistant Secretary Romeo Montenegro said Thursday the council by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) would meet within the month to craft guidelines as initially proposed by the Bureau of Customs.

"There has to be a framework that will guide the practice of barter trading in the island-provinces, particularly Tawi-Tawi and Sulu," Montenegro said.

"Barter trading has been in existence but there has been no regulations, no framework, no taxation, no nothing at all," he added.

He said the government has allowed barter trade on the island as it has been a traditional mode of trading goods between the islanders and their neighbors in Malaysia and Indonesia, for instance.

President Rodrigo Duterte issued Executive Order 64 in October last year for the revival of barter trading in Mindanao to promote the island's growth and development.

The order also constituted the Mindanao Barter Council, tasked to "supervise, coordinate, and harmonize policies, and programs" on barter trading in the island.

Montenegro said the formulation of rules will be coordinated with the Bangsamoro Administrative Region for Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), as the regional government will have management over the barter trading areas of Tawi-Tawi and Sulu.

"The government is looking at it as a possible mechanism by which the people in the two areas will be given the opportunity to trade more actively, proactively with the enabling policy supported by the guidelines once it is adopted," he said.

Montenegro underscored the importance of cross-border trading involving Tawi-Tawi and Sulu residents and their neighboring islands in Malaysia and Indonesia, pointing out that it is cheaper to trade commodities for Filipino residents that source them from mainland Zamboanga.

"Hopefully by September, the necessary policies and guidelines will be finalized and those involved must adopt the rules in the cross-border trading between Mindanao, Malaysia, and Indonesia," he said. (PNA)