P100-M peace complex to rise in Maguindanao

COTABATO CITY – The executive branch of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) started constructing the other day a peace complex to be used in propagating solidarity among fragmented, culturally diverse sectors through dialogues.

The P100-million, 4,000-square-meter stadium, a flagship project of ARMM Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan, will be built at the rear of the newly constructed provincial capitol in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao.

Lawyer Oscar Sampulna, executive secretary of ARMM, said Ampatuan embarked on the project to establish a "landmark venue" where 5,000 people can sit together for interfaith dialogues aimed at complementing the Southern Mindanao peace process.

"For the present ARMM administration, dialogues and peace negotiations are still the best way of fostering peace and sustainable development in the autonomous region," said Sampulna, speaking on behalf of Ampatuan.

The 39-year-old Ampatuan has persistently been asserting that he is for the peace process and the continuation of the talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), something his predecessors never did for fear that a final government-MILF peace pact would only boot them out of power.

"In this building, leaders from all over ARMM, the local executives, the Muslim and Christian religious people, representatives of different sectors, can sit side-by-side and discuss how they can pool each other’s support to the peace process," Sampulna said.

The ARMM covers Marawi City, Maguindanao, Shariff Kabunsuan and Lanao del Sur, all in Central Mindanao, and the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.

Sampulna said the stadium will be named Datu Saudi Ampatuan Memorial Complex, in honor of the ARMM governor’s brother, who was killed, along with 17 others, in a bomb attack in Datu Piang, Maguindanao on Dec. 23, 2003.

Sampulna said the money to be spent for the construction of the facility will be drawn from the ARMM’s infrastructure subsidy, which is earmarked for various projects needed to improve the region’s economy and, at the same time, hasten the peace process which is centered on the socio-economic and political empowerment of impoverished Moro sectors.