The SPDA is a tool in the oppressive “counterinsurgency” war under the guise of “economic development.” It was established in 1975 as part of the package for the “surrendered” revolutionary Moro National Liberation Front forces in the past. In 1980, the SPDA established the Kapatiran Agro-Industrial Cooperative Settlement Project in the towns of Wao and Bumbaran/Amai Manabilang.

The SPDA also became part of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) signed in 2014. This agreement resulted from several decades of peace negotiations that ended with the surrender of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and disarmament of its forces. One of the controversial provisions of the CAB is the “wealth sharing” between the yet to be established Bangsamoro parliament and the national government. Contracts and agreements between Moro officials, the national government, and foreign corporations pass through this arrangement.

Abdulghani A. Salapuddin currently leads the SPDA. He is a former representative of Basilan and a former MNLF fighter.