Friday, July 25, 2008 Cotabato folk now arming themselves: Piñol
NORTH Cotabato residents have started arming themselves in preparation for the possible inclusion of their province in the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) that will be under the control of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Vice Governor Emmanuel Piñol said though they are not supporting such a move by residents in the province, they are however not opposing it either.
"I'm sorry to say this but sad to say the people are starting to arm themselves. There is no way that North Cotabato would sacrifice themselves just so the national government could appease the MILF," Piñol said.
He said it is for this reason that they are doing everything they can to oppose the inclusion of North Cotabato in the proposed expanded Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm), which will become part of the "MILF territory."
Piñol said if unopposed, the Bangsamoro entity will cover half of North Cotabato affecting 11 municipalities like Pikit, Kabacan, Pigcawayan, Aleosan, Banisilan, Midsayap, Carmen, Matalam, Mlang, Tulunan, and President Roxas.
With MILF lording over their barangays and with some of the Moro group members' closeness to the Jemaah Islamiyah and Al-Qaeda international terrorist groups, Piñol fear that areas under the said entity could be used for terror activities.
"Let's not be naive about this, the MILF is not composed of noble men with noble intentions," Piñol said.
He said the recent spate of attacks happening in North Cotabato could partly be blamed for the province's opposition to the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity inclusion knowing how the Muslim secessionist group operates.
The vice governor added that they will not back out on their effort to stop the signing of the memorandum of agreement on the ancestral domain (MOA-AD) despite the threat from the MILF.
Piñol said they already filed a writ of mandamus and prohibition with prayer for a temporary restraining order before the Supreme Court (SC) Wednesday to compel the National Government in giving them a copy of the MOA-AD.
Piñol expects the SC to act on their petition immediately so that the signing of the MOA-AD between the Philippine government and the MILF would be halted. It was learned that the MOA-AD is scheduled to be signed anytime soon.
The agreement is deemed illegal since it was made without consulting the local government units in accordance with the Local Government Code, according to Piñol.
Lawyer Israelito Torreon, the vice governor's legal counsel, said they expect favorable decision from the SC since the MOA-AD is an internal agreement, thus the government could not cite executive privilege and national security as reason for not making public the MOA-AD.
Meanwhile, he said he is puzzled by how the National Government is bending so low to accommodate the MILF in the talks.
He hinted that there could be something deeper into the issue than just the peace negotiations. He did not elaborate further.
Piñol said that anytime soon, Mindanao leaders who are opposing the MOA-AD will gather in Manila to map out their strategy in opposing the agreement. Among them are Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat and Sultan Kudarat Governor Teng Mangudadatu.
"We are sorry to frustrate the administration but we are opposing this sellout," he said. (BOT)
