Robredo urges Moro rebels to continue arms-to-farms struggle

From the Philippine News Agency (Jul 7): Robredo urges Moro rebels to continue arms-to-farms struggle

KAUSWAGAN, Lanao Del Norte - Vice Pres. Leni Robredo, on Thursday, visited the strife-torn provinces of Lanao to inspire the Moro rebels to continue the "armed struggle."

“I want to listen to your stories,” Robredo told hundreds of Moro rebels from the Moro Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) who first saw the country’s second highest official in the flesh.

The Moro rebels of the MNLF and MILF, who came down from the hills and converted their high-powered firearms into “plows” and “harrows” to cultivate agricultural lands under the government’s “arms-to-farms” program, are now agriculturally productive.

“We decided to continue our armed struggle in the farms in order for us to live peacefully and become productive citizens,” a rebel returnee said.

Robredo first dropped by Marawi City Thursday morning to personally thank her supporters there before proceeding to Kauswagan, Lanao Del Norte where she talked with the former members of the Moro rebel groups.

In the past, Kauswagan was one of the strife-torn towns in the Lanao provinces where the armed conflict between the government troops and the Moro rebels displaced hundreds of farmers and coastal residents.

Kauswagan town mayor Rommel Arnado, introduced the arms-to-farms program as a peace initiative to promote peace in Mindanao and to empower MILF and the MNLF to become agriculturally productive.

In her speech, Robredo said that she long wanted to visit the town when Arnado told her about Kauswagan's transformation from being conflict-riddled to becoming

Lanao's sustainable agriculture model.

She said that the purpose of her visit was to listen to the stories of the farmers, especially the rebel returnees.

"Their success should be an inspiration to others, (that’s what happened in Kauswagan) can be replicated elsewhere," Robredo said.

Arnado said since the organic food production was initiated, the town's poverty incidence went down from 70 percent to around 30 percent at present.

For Ismael Sarip, of the MILF Indirapatra Brigade, said he decided to avail of the town's program and is now reaping the harvest of his labor.

At his two-hectare farm in Lininding, Lanao Del Sur, Sarip planted rice, coffee and various fruits.

His three-month farm production training in Bukidnon has helped him double his rice harvest from 35 to 70 sacks due to farming techniques he had acquired.

"When I was a rebel, I used to carry firearms. Now my weapons are my farm tools. The arms-to-farms programs has really helped me and my family," Sarip said.

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