Thursday, August 07, 2008 Piñol to snub MOA signing in Malaysia
KIDAPAWAN CITY -- Despite the invitation, Cotabato 2nd district Representative Bernardo Piñol Jr. has no plans of witnessing what the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) claimed as the historic signing in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia believed to be a product of years of political negotiations.
Piñol said that taking part in the signing of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) "is like being part of a conspiracy to make harder the lives of the people in Mindanao, especially in North Cotabato."
The formal invitation for Piñol to witness the formal signing of the MOA came from Presidential adviser on the peace process Hermogenes Esperon.
Esperon said to Piñol: "As one of our partners in peace and development, we would like to invite you to join us and witness another milestone in the GRP-MILF peace process."
The signing, according to Esperon, will take place on Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
According to the schedule, the signing ceremony will come after the speeches of Malaysia's foreign minister and Secretary Alberto Romulo of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) of the Philippine government at 11 a.m.
At 3:30 p.m., the GRP and the MILF panels will start their negotiations on the comprehensive compact.
The ceremony is expected to end at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, according to the schedule that the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (Opapp) faxed to Piñol. (Malu Cadelina Manar)
