| I loved Muslims, but not the MILF: Erap |
| Written by Eldie S. Aguirre | |
| Tuesday, 09 September 2008 | |
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“I loved Muslims, but no the MILF.” The firm statement of Deposed President Joseph Estrada during his keynote address to the 8th founding anniversary of Digos City on September 08 as he reiterated his stand to end up hostilities in Central Mindanao and North Cotabato.
“We are under one flag, one country and one government. Nobody could ever claim who owns Mindanao. And no one has the right to give even a portion of it to any ethnic group since Mindanao belong to the independent and sovereign Filipino people,” Estrada said before thousands of people who graced the occasion.
The former President said if the current administration has continued his drive against the MILF, ‘we are no longer talking about ceasefire and peace negotiations now.”
The military has overrun 46 MILF main and satellite camps in Mindanao during his short-lived presidency.
He said when he was booted out of the presidency, the current administration “returned their firearms” and started the war all over again. “They are capitalizing on the ceasefire and peace negotiations to regroup and wage war against the government.”
“Our soldiers could have been helping the government in building infrastructure projects in different parts of Mindanao,” Estrada said.
He said most of the military personnel could have set aside their firearms and focuses their attention to help build schools and government establishments to push prosperity and development in Mindanao.
“This is what I’ve been dreaming of – making Mindanao a better place to live, not just a land of promises,” Estrada said.
Estrada assured Mindanaoans of his continuous help and support. “I will give my life to Mindanao.”
On the other hand, North Cotabato Vice-Governor Emmanuel Piñol said he purposely traveled to Digos City to personally express his thanks to Estrada for helping his people against the aggression of MILF renegades since he was still president until now.
“You were there on the time when we needed you most,” Piñol said referring to Estrada.
Piñol said what is happening today in North Cotabato and some parts of Mindanao are not the kind of picture he wanted to portray about Mindanao. “We are for peace. Yes, we want peace but not to the extent of giving up our territories to the MILF for the sake of acquiring peace.”
“I pity on my people who are coming in an out of the evacuation centers to seek refuge from this never ending war in Mindanao,” Piñol said.
Piñol said if the signing of the MOA-AD on August 05, the government and its line agencies can do nothing to reverse such an international agreement drafted without consulting the people concerned.
If the MOAD-AD was signed in Malaysia on August 05, the government can do nothing to reverse the same since it would become an international agreement, the vice-governor said.
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