Press Release
August 21, 2008

KIKO TO PALACE: CLEAN UP MINDANAO MESS

Senate Majority Leader and Independent senator Kiko Pangilinan today criticized the Palace after Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita announced that the government will no longer sign the GRP-MILF MOA due to flaws in its provisions.

"Their move is an admission of wrong doing on their part and that they are guilty having failed the people in these negotiations. They knew the MOA was flawed, why did they push it?" Kiko asked.

Ermita earlier announced that the government will seek a review of the controversial peacepact creating a Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE). The MILF though its chief Ibrahim Murad on the other hand washed its hands off the attack that claimed at least 41 lives in Mindanao saying the aggression was committed by a lost command and was not sanctioned by the MILF.

"If we are negotiating with an entity that has no power over all its components, how do we expect it to deliver its promises? The MILF must establish its sincerity and its ability to fulfil its word first before we can reach a lasting peace agreement," Kiko said.

"The decades-long conflict in Mindanao will not be solved overnight. Both parties need to show pure intentions, and negotiations must be done transparently and not in haste," Kiko ended.

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