Maguindanao peace gains cited

From the Manila Bulletin (May 18): Maguindanao peace gains cited

Guindulungan, Maguindanao — Following the government signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) this year, reinvigorated communities and vibrant economic activities have begun sprouting in erstwhile combat areas of this province, according to the local military leadership.

Maj. Gen. Romeo Gapuz, commander of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, cited as example the villages along the highway linking Maguindanao and General Santos City where military and MILF forces had fought fiercely for years before the protracted Mindanao peace process brought forth final pacts summed up in the CAB.

“If you observed our surroundings, new communities have mushroomed along the highway. Also, trade between Awang [in Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao] and General Santos City has become vibrant,” Gapuz said in Pilipino at the recent celebration here of 11th year foundation of this town.

A tangible proof, Gapuz said, is the tremendous increase in traffic from this town to Awang, the base of the 6th ID headquarters.

Gapuz, who is retiring on May 26, was invited as one of the guests of honor during this town’s 11th foundation anniversary celebration where host officials paid tribute to his administration’s active support to the peace process.

“The peace that we used to see in the distance is now in our midst. Let us harness it for meaningful growth in our communities,” Gapuz told hundreds of celebrating officials and residents.

The military official urged the public to continue rallying the CAB, which the government and MILF peace panels signed last March 27 as a basis for the creation of a more powerful Bangsamoro entity in lieu of the existing Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

Guindulungan Mayor Antao Midtimbang said the local government supports the CAB and that its people are ready to participate in the plebiscite because “we’ve longed for peace for 42 years.”

Midtimbang said his town has, this early, started reaping initial benefits from the peace process.

“Before, people would just gossip along the roads but now they think of engaging in decent work,” he said in the vernacular.

http://www.mb.com.ph/maguindanao-peace-gains-cited/