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Friday, August 08, 2008
Sultan Kudarat says no to Moro homeland
By Malu Cadelina Manar
Correspondent
KIDAPAWAN CITY -- Sultan Kudarat Governor Teng Mangudadatu has joined the bandwagon in opposing moves to include some parts of the southern Philippines in the proposed Moro homeland.
A rally was staged Thursday at the Capitol compound in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat. It started around 9 a.m. and was attended by employees of the Isulan Provincial Government, students, church leaders including Cotabato auxiliary Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo, and local government officials in Sultan Kudarat.
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Mangudadatu said he is opposed to plans to include Sultan Kudarat in the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity.
According to the memorandum of agreement (MOA) on the ancestral domain, the whole province would be included in the Bangsamoro entity.
The MOA signing between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), which was set on Tuesday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, was halted after the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order.
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Sultan Kudarat is a province under the Soccsksargen (South Cotabato-Cotabato City-Koronadal-Sultan Kudarat-General Santos-North Cotabato) region in southern Philippines.
Its capital is Isulan and it borders Maguindanao and North Cotabato to the north, South Cotabato and Sarangani to the east.
The province, subdivided into 11 towns and one city, has 249 villages. All these areas, under the MOA, will join the proposed Bangsamoro entity if its residents agree to it through a plebiscite, which is scheduled in August next year.
The province has three coastal towns, including Kalamansig, Lebak, and Palembang, and inland towns, including Isulan, Bagumbayan, President Quirino, Senator Ninoy Aquino, Esperanza, Columbio, and Lambayong, and Tacurong City, the most urbanized and is considered to be the province's commercial center.
Lambayong Mayor Ramon Abalos, president of the League of Municipalities in Mindanao who joined Mangudadatu in the rally, urged government leaders to reconsider their position on ancestral domain issues once talks with the separatist Moro rebels resume.
Abalos said the inclusion of his town and the whole Sultan Kudarat province in the Moro homeland came as a surprise to him.
He said he never thought that while talks were ongoing between the government and the MILF, his town has already been included as part of the ancestral domain of the rebel group.
"I have not read the document. I was just told about it. Even if I did, I will still say no to it. My people are saying no to it, too," said Abalos. (Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Davao. (August 8, 2008 issue)
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