CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY -- Officials of a local
university on Tuesday allayed the fears about the presence of armed combatants
of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) during the school’s graduation
rites here.In a statement released to the local press, officials of the Xavier
University, said that Mohagher Iqbal, the MILF chief peace negotiator, would
come to Cagayan De Oro City without armed bodyguards.
The university would confer the Fr. Masterson Awards to
Iqbal in recognition to his efforts to forge a peace pact with the national
government in a bid to end the Moro conflict in Mindanao .
Iqbal has promised not to bring along his armed security
group during the university’s 75th Commencement Exercises on March 26, 2015
here, the statement said.
Despite the public clamor to defer the giving of the
recognition, the Jesuit-owned university has insisted on extending the award
amid protests from the university’s alumni.
The school alumni described the recognition as “premature”
since the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) remains inoperative and have yet to
withstand the test of time.
City Councilor Ramon Tabor, an influential alumnus of the Xavier University
University officials, however, said that the university’s
Board of Trustees have already decided the recognition award last November
2014, or two months prior to the Mamapasano tragedy.
However, the university made the announcement to confer the
honor on Iqbal was only made public in mid-February, causing outrage in the
city, including university alumni.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=2&sid=&nid=2&rid=743053
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