COTABATO CITY – Around 260 bikers from security sector, members of the Moro Fronts, bikers association, accompanied by some local government officials from Maguindanao biked the 66-kilometer from Mamasapano Maguindanao to the Office of the Regional Governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) here on Sunday.
Joining the cyclists were the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) ASec Dickson Hermoso, USec Nabil Tan, MILF Join Normalization Committee (JNC) Chair Edward Guerra, 6th Infantry Division Chief Brig. Gen. Cirilito E. Sobejana and others government officials and Non-Government Organizations (NGO).
From the local government of Maguindanao, Mamasapano Maguindanao Mayor Datu Benzar Ampatuan and Talayan Mayor Datu Tungkang Midtimbang have also joined with the Bikers.
Dubbed as Kariling sa Kalinaw 2018, the Bike for Peace is part of the month - long celebration of peace in the country. September of every year is National Peace Consciousness Month as declared by Proclamation No. 675 issued in 2004. The same proclamation mandates OPAPP to be the lead government agency to coordinate and monitor its observance.
In a short program at the ARMM Compound, Regional Reconciliation and Unification Commission (RRUC) Executive Director Abdulbasit Benito represented ARMM Regional Governor Mujiv S. Hataman who failed to attend due to prior commitment, welcomes the cyclists.
Exec. Dir. Benito emphasized the relevance of the activity amidst the situations confronting the ARMM region and nearby areas. He reiterates the commitment and support of Governor Hataman for the Bangsamoro process and the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL). “Bagamat kami sa ARMM ang unang maa-apektuhan ng bagong batas na ito, Our Regional Governor Mujiv S. Hataman is very supportive to the BOL for the fact na he is really working hard in campaigning for the Yes Vote for BOL in the coming plebiscite sapagkat alam niya na ilan sa mga challenges na hinaharap nating ngayon sa region ay ma address kung sakaling ma implement itong bagong Bangsamoro government’. (We in the ARMM would first to be affected with this new law, our regional governor is very supportive for BOL in fact he is really working hard in campaigning for the Yes vote in the upcoming plebiscite because he knows that the challenges we are facing right now will be addressed once this new Bangsamoro government is in place).
In a press release by the ARMM’s public information bureau, the leadership of the ARMM suggested that a fraction of the regional government's budget for 2019 be realigned for the BOL plebiscite scheduled on January next year in case funding for the referendum does not come on time.
“We support the BOL all the way and budget should not be a problem; we are recommending to allow part of the ARMM proposed budget to be used for the plebiscite,” Governor Hataman said on Sunday.
The statement came amid reports that there is no allocation in the P3.757-trillion 2019 national budget for the BOL plebiscite, which requires P857 million.
Lawmakers have said that the P10-billion budget submitted by the Commission on Elections for 2019 does not include expenditures for the plebiscite.
Gov. Hataman said Congress may realign over P800 million for the plebiscite from the P10.1 billion infrastructure fund for the region proposed by the ARMM next year.
President Rodrigo Duterte signed Republic Act No. 11054, or the Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) on July 26, days after his State of the Nation Address.
For his part, MILF JNC Chairman Edward Guerra said that the group involving MILF, Police, and the Army as well as the professional bikers assembled for peace affairs in the Kariling Sa Kalinaw actually sending a very strong message to the people that the war is over.
“Your grouping, our grouping that involves the MILF bikers, Police bikers, the Army bikers and the professional bikers is an assembly for peace affairs of the Kariling, and actually you are sending a message that we are united for peace, tapos na ang gyera nakikita niyo contingent the civilians and the army and the MILF are jointly together in this affair so we are sending again a strong message to the people na nagkakaisa tayo sa peace” Mr. Guerra said.
Through a video conference, OPAPP Undersecretary Secretary Tan shared a State of the Peace Process Address. He started with a remarks stating that peace begins in oneself, according to him, if you are a peaceful with yourself, you ought to share with your family, neighbors and to the community around you.
“You cannot give something that you do not have. He added that the role of OPAPP is providing only the convergent, it provides the framework for the people on the ground that can work on, with the support groups such as NGOS, CSO and other actors. According to him, state of the peace process today is not really a weaving of accomplishment from OPAPP. It’s just a compilation of what each and every one contributed.
He shared the challenges and difficulties the OPAPP have gone through before BOL passage in Congress and eventually signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte.
“We are done with the BOL, it was signed already, you should know also how difficult for us to converge the 2 conflicting versions of the house and the senate at the same time trying also to convince the MILF and the MNLF sector that this is something that we can work on…. some say this is not fully faithfully consistent with what was agreed upon…. but what is very significant is that our partner, the MILF the MNLF said that let’s give this a chance for us first then we can move forward, improving it as originally as an aspirations of the Bangsamoro to be accomplished now and in the future”.
He said that with the BOL already done, this is not a magic word, there’s a lot of work to be done.
http://www.luwaran.com/news/article/1513/milf--military--armm--lgus-and-civic-groups-bike-for-peace
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