Thursday, June 26, 2008 MILF leery on funds for Mindanao development By Ben O. Tesiorna
THE Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has mixed feelings on the proposal of House Speaker Prospero Nograles to pour more development funds for Mindanao.
Describing it as both "unwelcome and welcome development," MILF deputy chair for information Khaled Musa said development "per se" is welcome but to use it as counter-insurgency tool is another matter.
Musa said to use development funds to undermine the MILF-led struggle for the Bangsamoro people's "freedom and right of determination" would be a failure because the problem is not about poverty or economic but political that can be addressed only by political solution.
He urged the government to be truthful to the peace process and comply with whatever commitment it made with the MILF in order for the peace talks to move forward.
"Non-compliance means an open invitation for war in Mindanao," he explained.
For his reaction, Nograles said the government and MILF has "the same targets, which is to ensure development in Mindanao and help people improve their lives."
"They should help me and our Mindanao congressmen attain peace here so we could take off," Nograles said.
In an earlier statement, Nograles said Mindanao leaders should take the first step in sowing the seeds of peace and development by providing livelihood to the remotest barangays in their respective areas.
"We have a chicken-and-egg situation here. People complain of lack of development but they continue to destroy the peace. Government wants to develop Mindanao but peace and order is important for local and foreign investors to come in and for infrastructure and livelihood to be implemented in the area," Nograles said.
The Speaker predicted that if peace is not disturbed for at least two years, the affected areas will be developed in due time.
He said local officials, working with the National Government, should take the initiative by demonstrating utmost commitment in their desire to defeat lawlessness in their respective areas not only by providing law enforcement authorities all the necessary information to destroy the Abu Sayyaf and other criminal groups, but also by providing their constituents livelihood projects.
"People are easily persuaded to commit evil with an empty stomach. We should provide our people with the means to fend for them without resorting to criminal activities such as kidnapping," Nograles said.
