by Franklin P. Gumapon
DIPOLOG CITY, Feb. 13 (PIA) – Support from Mindanao’s four major groups is a key to attaining peace in the island, according to the commanding officer of the 10th Infantry Battalion (10IB) of the Philippine Army (PA) based in Leon Postigo, Zamboanga del Norte.
In a recent interview with the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) during the 42nd founding anniversary celebration of the 101st Infantry Brigade at Del Pilar, Piñan, Zamboanga del Norte, 10IB commanding officer Col. Tarahudin Ampatuan said the traditional leaders, religious leaders, political elite or incumbent political leaders and the local residents should be consulted by the members of the peace panel between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), as they wield influence over the socio-political-economic affairs in the area.
Ampatuan described the traditional leaders as the “sultans,” the “datus” and other titles conferred upon the tribal leaders in the area.
It can be recalled that Aquino administration has been pushing for the resolution to the decades-old armed conflict in Mindanao.
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Quintos-Deles said in a press statement that “the Aquino administration has the intense desire to have a signed agreement (with the MILF) as soon as possible, hopefully before 2013 or the midterm.”
Government chief negotiator Dean Marvic Leonen also called on the MILF to “meet the challenge of crafting an agreement soon enough, so that it could be implemented and then assessed and then adjusted before the term of the next President of the Republic.”
Deles admitted that “ending all internal conflicts in the country would not be easy, but letting the existing armed conflict stay “is not an option.” “We will continue to toil in the search for peace,” she added. (FPG/PIA-Zamboanga del Norte)
