Maulana M. Alonto, a senior member of the MILF Peace Negotiating Panel and also a member Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC), paid a courtesy call on Mayor Oscar Moreno of Cagayan de Oro City at his office last August 7, 2012.
Alonto was mandated by the Chair of the MILF Peace Negotiating Panel and concurrent Chair of the BTC, Mohagher Iqbal, to convey to the mayor the condolences and sympathies of the MILF, particularly Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, Chairman of the MILF Central Committee, to the families of the victims of the tragic bombing that occurred in the city on July 28, 2013.
Seven innocent people were killed, including medical doctors who were holding a convention in the city, and more than forty others were injured in the blast that took place on Friday night in one of the city’s premier malls, Limketkai.
Alonto emphasized and informed the mayor that the MILF as a policy vehemently condemns such an act of senseless violence that victimizes innocent civilians.
Alonto also reiterated the support of the MILF for the mayor’s sincere initiatives to defuse the tension as a result of the bombing and to put a stop to the wild speculations that point accusing fingers at Muslims as the ones responsible for this act of senseless violence.
He also discussed with the mayor the developments in the peace talks and gave in advance a copy of the signed Wealth Sharing Annex.
Alonto explained to the mayor that the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) provides for the protection by both the future Bangsamoro Government and the Central Government of the Bangsamoro communities living outside the territory of the Bangsamoro.
(A) significant number of Bangsamoro Muslims are residing in Cagayan de Oro. They are government officials and employees, long-time residents, and traders who have established businesses in the city. Most are from the Ranao provinces.
Mayor Moreno, on his part, was grateful for the visit and profusely thanked the MILF for showing concern over the tragedy in Cagayan de Oro City. He expressed his profound his grief over the recent tragedy that happened to his city and told Alonto and his party that it is his policy not to put fuel on the tragic event that could detrimentally affect the good relations between Muslims and Christians.
It should be recalled that when Moreno was still the governor of Misamis Oriental, he honored the MILF Peace Negotiating Panel with a dinner when the latter was in Cagayan de Oro for an advocacy sortie. In that dinner, majority of his mayors and board members were present, including the leading Catholic leader in Cagayan de Oro, Archbishop Antonio Ledesma.
Moreno especially informed the group that right after the bombing took place, Archbishop Ledesma of the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro, who is a leading proponent of inter-faith dialogue, went out of his way to tell the public not to believe rumors and rush judgment that tend to create division and tension between Muslims and Christians.
The mayor also disclosed that he felt relieved when leads in the investigation of the bombing did not point to either the MILF or the MNLF as behind it.
He stressed repeatedly that the visit of Alonto as a representative of the MILF will generate a positive impact on the people of Cagayan de Oro who have been traumatized by the bombing. He called the visit “crucial”.
In the course of the discussion, both Mayor Moreno and Alonto also discussed the current problems of the Bangsamoro Muslim community in Cagayan de Oro in the light of the recent tragedy. On suggestion of Alonto, the mayor will be establishing a Muslim Desk in his office that would focus on Moro concerns in Cagayan de Oro and coordinate activities geared toward resolving any problem affecting the Bangsamoro community such as security.
Alonto was accompanied by his official staff in the Transition Commission, Zaynab Javier, his Executive Assistant, and Atty. Muhammed Alonto, his Legal Researcher. Present were also the representatives of KAAPED, a federation of Muslim organizations based in Cagayan de Oro City: KAAPED President Sultan Cosain Macalungan, Secretary-General Ibra G. Macapanton, and two other officials of the federation.
At the end of the meeting, the mayor and Alonto went into a hug symbolizing the friendship and sincerity that marked the visit.
They were also briefly interviewed together by the local media wherein both announced the purpose of the meeting for the information of the public.
Meanwhile, a day before the courtesy call on the mayor, Alonto and his staff broke fast (iftar) with the officers of KAAPED and discussed their problems. Alonto also briefed them on the FAB and updated them on the on-going negotiations with the Government of the Philippines (GPH) in Kuala Lumpur. He also dispelled the unfounded speculation going around that Lake Lanao has been excluded in the peace negotiation.
The Moro leaders vowed to support the negotiation and even volunteered their services through advocacy and to work for the approval of the Bangsamoro Basic Law when it goes through a plebiscite.
http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/welcome/item/495-milf-conveys-sympathy-to-cagayan-de-oro-mayor-over-the-tragic-bombing
Seven innocent people were killed, including medical doctors who were holding a convention in the city, and more than forty others were injured in the blast that took place on Friday night in one of the city’s premier malls, Limketkai.
Alonto emphasized and informed the mayor that the MILF as a policy vehemently condemns such an act of senseless violence that victimizes innocent civilians.
Alonto also reiterated the support of the MILF for the mayor’s sincere initiatives to defuse the tension as a result of the bombing and to put a stop to the wild speculations that point accusing fingers at Muslims as the ones responsible for this act of senseless violence.
He also discussed with the mayor the developments in the peace talks and gave in advance a copy of the signed Wealth Sharing Annex.
Alonto explained to the mayor that the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) provides for the protection by both the future Bangsamoro Government and the Central Government of the Bangsamoro communities living outside the territory of the Bangsamoro.
(A) significant number of Bangsamoro Muslims are residing in Cagayan de Oro. They are government officials and employees, long-time residents, and traders who have established businesses in the city. Most are from the Ranao provinces.
Mayor Moreno, on his part, was grateful for the visit and profusely thanked the MILF for showing concern over the tragedy in Cagayan de Oro City. He expressed his profound his grief over the recent tragedy that happened to his city and told Alonto and his party that it is his policy not to put fuel on the tragic event that could detrimentally affect the good relations between Muslims and Christians.
It should be recalled that when Moreno was still the governor of Misamis Oriental, he honored the MILF Peace Negotiating Panel with a dinner when the latter was in Cagayan de Oro for an advocacy sortie. In that dinner, majority of his mayors and board members were present, including the leading Catholic leader in Cagayan de Oro, Archbishop Antonio Ledesma.
Moreno especially informed the group that right after the bombing took place, Archbishop Ledesma of the Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro, who is a leading proponent of inter-faith dialogue, went out of his way to tell the public not to believe rumors and rush judgment that tend to create division and tension between Muslims and Christians.
The mayor also disclosed that he felt relieved when leads in the investigation of the bombing did not point to either the MILF or the MNLF as behind it.
He stressed repeatedly that the visit of Alonto as a representative of the MILF will generate a positive impact on the people of Cagayan de Oro who have been traumatized by the bombing. He called the visit “crucial”.
In the course of the discussion, both Mayor Moreno and Alonto also discussed the current problems of the Bangsamoro Muslim community in Cagayan de Oro in the light of the recent tragedy. On suggestion of Alonto, the mayor will be establishing a Muslim Desk in his office that would focus on Moro concerns in Cagayan de Oro and coordinate activities geared toward resolving any problem affecting the Bangsamoro community such as security.
Alonto was accompanied by his official staff in the Transition Commission, Zaynab Javier, his Executive Assistant, and Atty. Muhammed Alonto, his Legal Researcher. Present were also the representatives of KAAPED, a federation of Muslim organizations based in Cagayan de Oro City: KAAPED President Sultan Cosain Macalungan, Secretary-General Ibra G. Macapanton, and two other officials of the federation.
At the end of the meeting, the mayor and Alonto went into a hug symbolizing the friendship and sincerity that marked the visit.
They were also briefly interviewed together by the local media wherein both announced the purpose of the meeting for the information of the public.
Meanwhile, a day before the courtesy call on the mayor, Alonto and his staff broke fast (iftar) with the officers of KAAPED and discussed their problems. Alonto also briefed them on the FAB and updated them on the on-going negotiations with the Government of the Philippines (GPH) in Kuala Lumpur. He also dispelled the unfounded speculation going around that Lake Lanao has been excluded in the peace negotiation.
The Moro leaders vowed to support the negotiation and even volunteered their services through advocacy and to work for the approval of the Bangsamoro Basic Law when it goes through a plebiscite.
http://www.luwaran.com/index.php/welcome/item/495-milf-conveys-sympathy-to-cagayan-de-oro-mayor-over-the-tragic-bombing
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