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MANILA, Philippines – Rebel leader Al Haj Murad Ebrahim finally set foot in Malacañang on Monday, October 15, at around 11:30am, where he shook hands with President Benigno Aquino III ahead of the signing of a peace plan between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Both leaders exchanged gifts as a sign of goodwill. Murad gave Aquino a “Gong of Peace,” while the President gave the MILF a replica of a nipa hut.
“This is the sound of peace,” a smiling Murad said as he banged on a miniature version of a traditional Philippine Muslim gong.
Murad, who took up arms at the beginning of the conflict in the 1970s, became the first MILF chief to visit the presidential palace.
In their meeting, Murad was accompanied by Mohagher Iqbal, head of the MILF’s negotiating panel. With the President was Marvic Leonen, head of the government negotiating panel.
Leonen and Iqbal are scheduled to sign Monday afternoon the 2012 Framework Agreement that sets the stage for the crafting of a law that will abolish the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and set up the Bangsamoro region. Both sides expect the Bangsamoro region to be set up before the term of President Aquino ends in 2016.
Murad was the longtime military boss of the MILF. (Read his profile here.)
Earlier in the morning, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak arrived in Malacañang to witness the signing of the agreement and hold bilateral talks with the Aquino adminisration. Malaysia has been the host of the peace negotiations between the government and the MILF.
Najib was expected to propose a change in the role of the existing peacekeepers in the region. – Rappler.com
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