ARMM Gov calls Gov’t Peace Panel to slow down; backs SOMO

SHARIFF AGUAK, Maguindanao – Regional Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) called on the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) Peace Negotiation Panel not to rush up in coming with a final peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

The ARMM chief executive made his call during the consultation on Tuesday at the Provincial Capitol here conducted by the government peace panel chief Undersecretary Rafael Seguis.

Ampatuan said that there should be a proper consultation with the different stakeholders in Maguindanao including the town mayors and barangay officials to institute a feasible outline that would resolve genuinely the continuing conflict.

“If you [GRP Peace Negotiation Panel] really care for Mindanao, you should consult the mayors, the local government units and even up to the barangay level -- all sectors in the society. This is the only way to attain legitimate peace in ARMM and we are very willing to take part of it,” Ampatuan said.

In response, Seguis assured that the government’s team is exhausting all means to decisively craft the final agreement citing, “I will never allow another TRO [Temporary Restraining Order]. If this would happen, the people will never believe the government again.”

Seguis is referring to the TRO the Supreme Court (SC) issued when the MoA-AD is about to be officially signed in July 2008. In October of the same year, the SC declared MoA-AD unconstitutional.

Further, Seguis laid out the upshot of initial talks with the MILF Negotiating Panel which have just resumed communication in July 28 and 29, this year, after almost a year of stalemate.

Both panels agreed to effort mutually the sustenance of Suspension of Military Operations (SOMO)/Suspension of Military Actions (SOMA) in the conflict-affected areas, acknowledge that Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MoA-AD) is an unsigned and initialed document which needs reframing on substantial consensus points, design a mechanism that would protect non-combatants in armed conflict and beefing up International Contact Group.

Governor Ampatuan, on the other hand, gives surety that the regional government is backing the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) pronouncement of SOMO/ SOMA in the conflict areas.

“The entire ARMM Regional Government supports the strategies to conclusively design the GRP-MILF final compact without jeopardizing the plight of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the province,” Ampatuan said. (BPI-ARMM*)