Drilon sees peace deal within Aquino term

Zak Yuson

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The President will finish the peace process before he leaves office in 2016, according to Senator Franklin Drilon

LASTING PEACE. In this file photo, President Benigno S. Aquino III welcomes MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim to Malacanang Palace. Malacanang photo.

MANILA, Philippines – A peace agreement between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) will be finalized and signed by the end of President Benigno Aquino III’s term in 2016, according to Senator Franklin Drilon.

Drilon said that the President is working hard to ensure the peace process concludes within his term to honor the work started by his mother, the late former President Corazon Aquino.

“President Cory started the peace process and President Noynoy will finish it,” Drilon told dzBB radio in Filipino.

Drilon also dismissed criticism that the President’s scheduled visit to the MILF main camp is “premature.” The senator said the visit is important because it sends a message of unity to all Filipinos.

Kailangan na ipakita ng liderato ng ating bansa na lahat po tayo ay nagkakaisa. Kahit hindi pa po nalalagdaan, pupupunta ang Pangulo dahil ito ay bahagi ng continuing process of peace and development. Hindi po magkakaroon ng katahimikan kung walang development,” said Drilon. (Our leader needs to show that we are united. Even if the peace agreement has not yet been signed, the President will go to the MILF camp because this is a part of the continuing process of peace and development. We cannot have peace without development.)

He also called on the President to form the Transition Commission, the 15-member body tasked to draft a basic law that will replace the Organic Act of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao.

The President is scheduled to visit Camp Darapanan, the main base of the MILF, in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao on Monday, February 11, to inaugurate the Sajahatra Bangsamoro development project and meet with MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte told dzRB radio that the high-level meeting will be marked by festivities.

On Saturday, February 9, government troops and MILF fighters ate together in a historic “boodle fight.” A boodle fight is a Philippine military tradition where soldiers and their guests eat with their hands from a communal buffet. – Rappler.com

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