SPDA flies to Malaysia and explores on halal feeds business

DAVAO CITY (7 February 2025) – Members of the Management Committee (MANCOM) of Southern Philippines Development Authority (SPDA) have engaged in a virtual meeting Friday with Associate Professor Dr. Zalina Zakaria, Director of the Universiti Malaya Halal Research Centre (UMHRC), Univeristi Malaya, Malaysia.

 

The Universiti Malaya is a public research university in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and said to be the oldest and highest ranking Malaysian institution of higher education.

 

The SPDA delegation led by Administrator and Chief Executive Officer Abdulghani ‘Gerry’ Ajul Salapuddin and Deputy Administrator Munap H. Pacio, is set to visit the Universiti Malaya Halal Research Centre (UMHRC) on February 19 for a meeting and briefing on halal processes in Malaysia and exchange insights on halal feed industry and explore potential business collaborations between the two countries.

 

In the Philippines, Mindanao is home to majority of the Filipino Muslims where more than 93% of the entire Islamic population in the country resides.

Muslims make up about more than 23% of the island’s entire population with more than half of this percentage is occupying the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

 

SPDA Administrator Gerry Salapuddin believes that halal feed industry has high business prospects in Mindanao and that potential major producers of halal food products in the island may prosper in this business endeavor due to its strategic location, large Muslim population, and agricultural sector. 

 

This virtual meeting was also attended by SPDA Operations Department Manager Cristy B. Dagala, Corporate Affairs Department Manager Officer-in-Charge Norhan A. Salih, Business Development Division Chief Marlon S. Saloma, Administrative Officer Monaliza S. Ampuan, Corporate Planning and MIS Division Chief Engr. Modiff DT Gampong, and Consultant Vicky Uy. (Celestino B. Siglos, Ed.D)