Wednesday, August 06, 2008 N. Cotabato residents rally vs Armm expansion By Malu Cadeliña Manar Correspondent
KIDAPAWAN CITY -- Some 5,000 residents of North Cotabato, most of them students and teachers, held Tuesday a prayer and peace rally at the provincial capitol compound calling against the inclusion of some towns and villages in the expanded Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm).
These areas, according to North Cotabato Vice Governor Manny Piñol, are included in the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) as stipulated in the memorandum of agreement (MOA) on the ancestral domain, which was set to be signed Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
A temporary restraining order (TRO) issued on Monday by the Supreme Court (SC), however, halted the MOA signing.
"How can the government panel agree to such a proposal? It's like selling this region to a rebel group. Even air, mineral resources, and waters in the BJE would be managed by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF)," Piñol told rallyists.
Janel Grace Lorilla, a fourth year student of the Amas National High School, has called on the National Government to consult the people of North Cotabato before it would ink the MOA with the MILF.
"We're saying yes to peace but we're saying no to the inclusion of North Cotabato in the expanded Armm. Consult us first, then MOA later," said Lorilla, who, together with her classmates and teachers, wore red t-shirts to show their "outrage" to the seemingly "insensitive" Arroyo government.
John Rey Kiel, student leader from the University of Southern Mindanao (USM), one of the biggest state-owned universities in Central Mindanao, encouraged his fellow university leaders to join them in "fighting what is best for us and for our future."
For Rea Marie Jubelag, also one of the student leaders from the USM Student Government, said: "The inclusion of North Cotabato in the expanded Armm is not the answer to the conflict here. In fact, it will only worsen the problem."
Manifestoes of support to the legal battle being waged by Piñol at the SC were also read during the rally.
One of them was issued by the League of Municipalities in North Cotabato.
Magpet Mayor Efren Piñol, LMP Cotabato chapter president, said the people of the province had already decided in 2001 plebiscite, where they unilaterally opposed to the inclusion of the province in the Armm.
Pigcawayan councilor Rolando Dillera, president of the Councilors League in North Cotabato, made it clear that the rally is not about Muslims but about the government.
"This is not a fight between the Muslims and the Christians. But we, Christians, are doing is just to defend what is right and due us. We can't allow the government to ink an agreement, which will later cause animosities between the Muslims and the Christians," he said.
Amid all these, Cotabato Governor Jesus Sacdalan asked his constituents to stay calm but urged them to continue the fight in a peaceful way.
"Tama lang na makibaka tayo... na lumaban tayo. Tama lang na nag-isyu ang SC ng TRO. 'Wag lang tayong padadala sa init ng ulo. Sa emosyon. Sa intriga. Sa galit. Baka pasukan ng third force para lalong mag-away-away ang mga Muslim at Kristiyano (It's just right that we wage the struggle... to fight. It's just right that the SC issued a TRO. But we must not be subdued by our emotions, by intrigues, by our anger. A third party might cause intense fighting between and among the Muslims and the Christians)," Sacdalan urged his constituents.
Sacdalan said that after he consulted people of North Cotabato, some of them said they were so frustrated when they learned that some of the towns in the province were included in the MOA even without due consultations.
"Hindi natin alam isinali tayo sa expanded Armm. Pinag-usapan nila nang 'di natin nalalaman. Dapat maging transparent ang GRP panel. (We did not know that we were included in the expanded Armm. They talked and decided about it without us knowing it. The GRP panel should have been transparent)," Sacdalan said.
Sacdalan, during the rally, expressed fears that the recent developments in the peace talks might result to more attacks to be launched by some irate MILF rebels in the area.
With this, he cautioned commuters plying the Cotabato-Davao route to limit their travels along the highways, especially during nighttime.
"Limit your travels from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. only. We must not give those irate MILF rebels a chance to launch attacks against us," he said.
The three-hour rally that started 8:30 a.m. was concluded by Vice Governor Piñol's call to action.
"We do not stop with the SC's issuance of the TRO. The fight has just begun. This is a long-drawn battle. We can only win if we hold on together," Piñol said.
The rally ended with the participants holding each other's arms while singing "If We Hold On Together."
