| Roxas wants Bravo and Kato’s immediate arrest |
| Written by Eldie S. Aguirre | |
| Tuesday, 21 October 2008 | |
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Senator Mar Roxas wanted MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front) renegade commanders Umbra Kato and Bravo’s immediate arrest to give justice to those who are directly and indirectly affected by the continuous war in Central and North Cotabato.
“I pity on more than 500 thousand individuals who are still in the evacuation sites when the war between the military and the MILF rebels escalates due to the failure of the MOA-AD,” Roxas said over a live interview over Bombo-Radyo Davao on Tuesday morning.
Roxas blamed on the government negotiators to their failure in solving the Mindanao conflict and triggered a war, instead.
“I just wondered why the government did not fire out the members of the GRP panel when it caused unimaginable damage to the people in Mindanao. They must be fired,” Roxas said.
Roxas said the MILF and the government loss its symbiotic trust and there’s no other way to solve the problem but to return to where the negotiations started.
He said the MILF no longer trust the government for not heeding on their demands, while the government also distrust the MILF after it failed to hold on the promised peace and tranquility in Mindanao.
“The Supreme Court declared the MOA-AD as illegal. And I’m happy for that since its implementation could lead to disintegration of our country. I don’t want the Philippines to be chopped off,” he said.
The senator said he wanted development in all parts of the country but not through a wrong action that could only lead to a more severe problem.
“As I roamed around Mindanao conducting consultations to different sectors of the society, I found out that Muslims dreamed of infrastructure developments that could provide them good business opportunities, health services, law and order, among others. This is what our Christian brothers wanted the government to deliver – but it failed,” Roxas said.
He said if the MILF wanted to establish independence they should not do it in this country since their political goals is different from what other sectors of the society wanted to happen in Mindanao.
“Kato and Bravo must be arrested in the soonest possible time,” Roxas said.
On the other hand, Roxas suggested three ways to uplift the living conditions of the Filipinos to face head on the economic crisis that we experienced today.
Affordable and long term loans must be initiated so that the marginal farmers and middle class could pursue their activities with lesser burden; the government must concentrate on agriculture development to ease our import dependency on staple foods; and tax rebate for Filipinos to encourage honest and timely tax payments.
“Whether the government will tell us the truth or not, we are really affected by the financial crisis that the world is facing nowadays. Therefore, we must initiate actions that could cushion its impact before it’s too late,” Roxas said.
Roxas also urge Malacañang to hold a budget summit to that the people would know how the money derived from taxes is being spent by the government. |