Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez, on behalf of the Philippine Government, and European Union Chargé d’ affaires ad interim Thomas Wiersing, on behalf of the EU, exchange the signed financing agreements for the EUR 35.5 million (P2 billion) grant for the Mindanao Peace and Development Program (RISE Mindanao) and the EUR25 million (P1.4 billion) grant for the Support to Bangsamoro Transition Program (SUBATRA) on Friday (July 16) at the Department of Finance (DOF) Building in Roxas Blvd. Manila.
The EU grant for the SUBATRA program will finance capacity-building initiatives for all three branches of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) government as well as the civil society organizations in the autonomous region. The RISE Mindanao, on the other hand, aims to unlock the productive capacities of Mindanao’s agriculture sector and expand economic opportunities for its farmers and small entrepreneurs while supporting the government’s priority of promoting growth in agricultural value chains.