Exploit your lands, Duterte tells Moros

RESPECT President Duterte pays his respects to the monument of wartime Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos as he led the commemoration of the 121st anniversary of Philippine Independence at a military camp in Malabang, Lanao del Sur. —MALACAÑANG PHOTO

MALABANG, LANAO DEL SUR — President Duterte reiterated his commitment to the Moro people that they would have a say on the exploitation of their natural resources, particularly the oil-rich Liguasan Marsh in Maguindanao province.

“Now that we have the BOL (Bangsamoro Organic Law), I guarantee you, exploit your resources. Madaliin na ninyo (Fast-track it). Ang Liguasan Marsh walang makialam n’yan, inyo yan (The Liguasan Marsh is yours; no one will take advantage of it). That was my commitment to you,” the President said in his message during a program commemorating the country’s 121st Independence Day at the headquarters of the Army’s 6th Infantry Battalion in Barangay Matling here.

‘Brotherly act’

Duterte signed the BOL last year, giving more rights and freedoms to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, a new political entity that replaced the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The BOL was ratified in a plebiscite held in January.

The Moro people, he said, need not look for partners in exploiting their territories.

“It’s for your children, not yourselves. That was really reserved for the children. Exploit it. Exploit the natural resources and make the Moro rich,” he said.

Duterte likewise assured the Moros that he would ensure that their rights over their natural resources would remain protected under his administration.

“What I’m telling you is that you will not be disturbed, [you will have] unbridled [right over your resources] and no one will bother you. You have the place already. It was surrendered to you; it was given to you as a brotherly act of all Filipinos,” he added.

Unity

The President repeated the commitment he made early this year as he appealed for the Moro community to help his administration, saying “iisa lang tayo (we are one).”

In his speech, the President stressed that it was his privilege to attend the celebration of Independence Day in Malabang where Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos, who briefly served as acting President during World War II, was executed by Japanese soldiers when he refused to cooperate with them during their invasion of the Philippines.

Patriots of the past

“In [Abad Santos’] last moment, he told his son to be brave and not to cry for it is an honor to die for one’s country as not everybody has that chance,” Duterte said.

The President, in his speech, also paid tribute to patriots of the past and the present for “safeguarding the democratic institutions that were built from the rubble of the wars that gave rise to our heroes.”

“Let us honor them by keeping in mind that the freedom that they won back then—the same freedom that we continue to enjoy today—is only as strong as our determination to [remain] free from any form of subjugation or oppression,” he said. — WITH A REPORT FROM DJ YAP