Peace advocate still wants MOA-AD inked
By CARMI CAVANLIT, ABS-CBN News Central Visayas | 11/28/2008 2:40 AM
Printer-friendly version | 
Send to friend | 
Share your views
CEBU CITY - Hundreds of students from Cebu City convened at the University of the Philippines- Cebu College for the Duyog Mindanao: Caravan for peace and solidarity forum, Thursday.
Guest speaker was Professor Octavio Dinampo, Mindanao Peoples Caucus chairman, who highlighted in his 20-minute speech the role of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) to a lasting peace in Mindanao.
Dinampo said that while people continue to be apathetic about the scrapped agreement, he said it is the only key to meeting the ideology of the Moros who, he said, want a tangible autonomy.
Dinampo also alleged that Moros are dismayed with how the government viewed peace talks as a way of extinguishing the dissenting opinions of the Moros rather than looking at peace talks as a bargaining agreement.
"The militarization of ARMM is very disappointing, it's as if all Moros are insurgents, that's why almost five [Armed Forces] brigades are in Mindanao," said Dinampo.
‘Mindanao problems remain’
Organizations like Mindanao Peaceweavers (MPW), Waging Peace Philippines, and Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID) also supported the caravan and called for unity among all Filipinos.
IID added that while we focus our attention to various Senate inquiries and congressional hearings, the problem in Mindanao is left hanging.
"It is high time for us to talk about this, even you, people from Visayas, including Luzon, will be affected if the insurgencies and killings in Mindanao will continue, it has been ages, yet it's getting worse everyday," said Lou Shanin Gecosala, executive assistant for IID.
Dinampo also asked members of the media to learn from the experience of Ces Drilon, whom he alleged to have committed a lapse in judgment.
"I believe we had an agreement that she wouldn't go to the MILF, and that she would just give me the questions that she would want to ask them, but she did not listen. I'm writing a book which would possess my side of the story," said Dinampo.
