MILF to hold peace rallies to celebrate peace deal signing

COTABATO CITY, Philippines - Members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front will hold simultaneous peace rallies on Thursday in selected sites to celebrate the signing the same day of the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB).

The CAB is the final compact between the government and the MILF, whose peace talks started January 7, 1997.

The information office of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission has announced that simultaneous rallies will be held in Pikit, North Cotabato, in Datu Paglas town in Maguindanao, in Gen. Santos City, and Camp Darapanan, the main bastion of the MILF located in nearby Sultan Kudarat town.

A peace rally will also be held in Cotabato City, according to the BTC. Similar activities will also be held in Basilan and in parts of South Cotabato, according to the BTC.

The joint government-MILF ceasefire committee will jointly oversee the security and safety of the peace rallies, according to sources from the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, which has jurisdiction over Maguindanao and North Cotabato.

The ARMM’s regional police office has tightened security in areas in the region’s five provinces and two cities as part of the security preparations.

ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman, chairman of the regional peace and order council, said all is set for the “peace-tahan” activities at the 32-hectare regional government compound here on Thursday.

“The peace-tahan activities at the ARMM compound is meant to show our appreciation of the signing of the final peace deal between the government and the MILF,” Hataman told The Star ina  text message.

Traditional Moro flaglets called pandala now dot the surroundings of the ARMM compound in the southwest of the city.