Tuesday, June 05, 2007 MILF praises Rody By Ben O. Tesiorna
IN A very rare move, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) took its hats off to Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte for his stand not to travel to the United States and Singapore to seek medical treatment.
At the group's official website, www.luwaran.com, the MILF, rarely known for praising people, has come out with a statement praising Duterte for defying back pain instead of seeking treatment in the United States and Singapore.
Jun Mantawil, head of the MILF peace panel secretariat, said "it is very rare these days those Filipino leaders have the guts to oppose the presence of US troops in the Philippines and to criticize a neighboring country like Singapore for its ill treatment of Filipina domestic helpers."
He said although Duterte occasionally snipes at the MILF especially when the twin bombings in Davao City in 2003 killed or wounded scores of people, "he (Duterte) remained one of the few political leaders in this country who is highly regarded in the MILF."
The mayor earlier rejected the possibility of him going to the US for medical treatment on his nerve problem. Duterte added he is also not considering a travel to Singapore due to the possible high cost of an operation there.
US and Singapore are said to be the two countries that offer a topnotch spine surgery.
