Cordillera rebels, NPA splinter group welcome signing of Moro peace agreement

From InterAksyon (Mar 27): Cordillera rebels, NPA splinter group welcome signing of Moro peace agreement

Two former rebel groups have welcomed today's signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The Cordillera Bodong Administration-Cordillera People’s Liberation Army (CBA-CPLA) and the Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa-Pilipinas/Revolutionary Proletarian Army/Alex Boncayao Brigade (RPM-P/RPA/ABB) issued separate statements ahead of the 4 p.m. signing ceremony at the Kalayaan Grounds.

"It is a milestone in our nation’s history that shall be remembered as a day when the whole country stood up for peace in the Southern Philippines, a hopeful attempt to finally resolve the four decades conflict in Mindanao that spelled hundreds if not thousands of Filipino lives," CBA secretary-general Mayor Gabino Ganggangan said.

"The Cordillera Bodong Administration shall stand with the Bangsamoro as they chart this track and shape a region that shall be a model of unity despite diversity of cultures. As peace-loving Cordillerans also granted a chance on autonomy in the 1987 Philippine Constitution, we are one with the Bangsamoro in welcoming this new chapter for sustainable peace and development that shall bring into reality our collective aspiration for real national upliftment and development in the lives of our peoples," Ganggangan added.

He recalled how challenges also mired the implementation of the peace pact between the government and the CBA-CPLA.

"But these were overcome by the perseverance of the parties who saw the agreement as a chance towards meaningful change, a chance towards communities’ engagement in governance reform, and a chance to give due respect to the many lives lost in the Cordilleran struggle for self governance and development," he said.

RPM-P/RPA/ABB said it views the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro "with high hopes for a bright path of reconciliation and collaboration."

"This signing heralds a historic step that will undertake the immense task of healing wounds of a decades-long armed conflict rooted in the centuries-old social injustice wrought by colonization on the early peoples of our country that still resonates and affects Mindanao and the whole Philippines."

"The government-MILF peace agreement deserves all the respect and needs all the support of peace and freedom loving peoples," the former rebel group added.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/83611/cordillera-rebels-npa-splinter-group-welcome-signing-of-moro-peace-agreement