Monday, August 18, 2008 Vendors protest against territorial deal
KORONADAL CITY -- An estimated 7,000 residents in nearby Tacurong City, a component of Sultan Kudarat province, joined on Friday a rally against the controversial memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD), a top official said.
Tacurong Mayor Lino O. Montilla said those who joined the protest rally where vendors of the public market who decided to close their establishments for half a day to dramatize their opposition on the MOA-AD.
"We are very glad that the business sector and the academe supported our protest action," Montilla said.
Tacurong's protest coincided with the oral argument set by the Supreme Court (SC) on the MOA on ancestral domain.
Earlier, the High Tribunal issued a temporary restraining order a day before the scheduled signing of the deal on the Bangsamoro homeland in Malaysia.
While Tacurong has not been included in the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE), Montilla said they pushed through with the rally since the city would still be affected.
He explained that since 90 percent of Sultan Kudarat province would be part of the BJE, Tacurong, the province's economic hub would still be affected because these areas surround the city.
Both the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have said that inclusion of areas contiguous to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm), the core of the BJE, will still be subjected to a plebiscite.
Last week, the Provincial Government of Sultan Kudarat headed by Governor Suharto T. Mangudadatu also held a protest action in Isulan, the capital town, against the MOA on ancestral domain.
