ARMM, MNLF Peace Pact Lauded

From the Manila Bulletin (Nov 11): ARMM, MNLF Peace Pact Lauded

Elected officials in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) lauded the leadership of the ARMM and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) by forging on Friday an agreement to mutually work in addressing local peace and security issues in the region. “That’s a laudable move. We salute the officials behind it including ARMM OIC-Governor Mujiv Hataman and MNLF Chairman Nur Misuari,” Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal “Bombit” Adiong Jr. told the Manila Bulletin over a phone interview Saturday night. Maguindanao Governor Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu shared Adiong’s enthusiasm, pointing out that the formation of the ARMM-MNLF partnership was an “unprecedented feat” in the Aquino administration’s development and peace-building initiatives in Southern Philippines. Lawyer Anwar Malang, ARMM executive secretary and current Interior and Local Government secretary, and lawyer Randolp Parcasio, MNLF legal counsel, signed the agreement at a hotel in Makati, with Misuari and Hataman witnessing. The move came as “total turn-around” from Misuari’s earlier provocative remarks undermining the Framework Agreement on a proposed Bangsamoro entity inked by the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) lat October 15. ARMM is composed of the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, and the cities of Marawi and Lamitan, areas covered by the September 2, 1996, GPH-MNLF peace accord.

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/380984/armm-mnlf-peace-pact-lauded