S. Cotabato town forges peace covenant with MNLF

From the Philippine News Agency (Oct 4): S. Cotabato town forges peace covenant with MNLF

In a bid to ensure the area’s security, local officials of T’boli town in South Cotabato and other stakeholders signed a peace covenant on Thursday with local members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

T’boli Mayor Dibu Tuan said Friday they forged the covenant with the MNLF on Thursday afternoon following a dialogue and consultation hosted by the local government.

“We agreed to further strengthen our linkages and jointly pursue initiatives that will help maintain peace in our area,” he said.

Despite the conclusion of the earlier standoff between government forces and members of the MNLF-Misuari faction in Zamboanga City, the mayor said they deemed it necessary to pursue the signing of the peace covenant to avert similar incidents from happening in the area.

Tuan and other local officials signed the covenant on behalf of the municipal government while the MNLF was represented by its local leader Tang Salambat.

He described Salambat as a commander of a local MNLF unit, which is reportedly composed of 100 mostly non-combatant members.

The group is reportedly based within the boundary of Barangay Lamsalome of T’boli and Barangay Lampari of Banga town.

Supt. Jemuel Siason, T’boli police chief, said the signing of the peace covenant was mainly aimed at uniting the area’s stakeholders and avert any planned movement by the MNLF in the area.

He said it reinforced the fact that MNLF members in the area are cooperative and are not threats to local peace and security.

The covenant was also signed by Siason and Lt. Col. Zhalimar Imperial, commander of the Army’s 27th Infantry Battalion.

“The covenant cited that in case a problem emerges among parties, we will find appropriate solutions in a peaceful manner,” Siason said.

Imperial said they fully support the signing of the peace covenant and called on other local government units to initiate similar moves.

“This will help clarify many issues that might create some problem later on in some areas if not handled properly,” he said.

The official noted that at the height of the conflict Zamboanga, several mobile phone text messages circulated in the area warning of supposed movements of local MNLF forces.

The text messages, which he cited as part of the disinformation activities of certain parties, have created some panic and tension among local residents.

“When we checked later on with the MNLF, they also received messages warning of supposed attacks by the military against their units. So it’s clear that some parties just want us to fight with each other,” Imperial added.(

http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=572824