Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
People, not just elephants, have long memories.
The Moro Islamic Liberation Front has not forgotten that then Senator Manuel “Mar” Roxas II was one of the “fiercest opponents” of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) that the government and the MILF were set to sign during the Arroyo administration to end the decades-long Muslim insurgency.
The deal had been reached in secret and ceded a large chunk of land and autonomy to a Bangsamoro nation.
In an editorial on its website Luwaran.com, the MILF said that offending Filipino Muslims anew would not do Roxas’ political career any good, now that he had been appointed interior secretary by President Aquino and since it appeared that he harbored plans of running for president in 2016.
Olive branch
The MILF, however, was quick to point out that Roxas’ views may have changed from the time he was a senator in 2004-2010, and it raised the possibility of working with him for peace.
“(Roxas) has the capability to change his views, especially now that he is part of the Aquino official family… Openly offending the Moros is not good for his political career,” the MILF said.
It then offered Roxas an olive branch.
“The MILF’s policies are not based on emotional outbursts or tainted by hatred. We view or handle issues with utmost care and responsibility and, more importantly, on the basis of clear and established ideological and political lines,” the group said.
“In short, the MILF does not have permanent enemies, except oppression and injustice,” it added.
Roxas was appointed interior secretary in place of the late Jesse Robredo who died in a plane crash on August 18. At the time Roxas was the secretary of transportation and communications.
Roxas, the MILF recalled, had vigorously helped to scuttle the MOA-AD.
Still Aquino’s call
“In fact, he rallied hard-core anti-MOA-AD politicians like North Cotabato Vice Gov. Emmanuel Piñol, Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat and Iligan City Mayor Lawrence Lluch Cruz against this historic agreement. And (with) the indecisiveness, nay, trickery of the Arroyo administration, they succeeded,” the MILF said.
The rebel group said it was now hoping that Roxas would follow through on the vow made by President Benigno Aquino to secure a peace deal with the MILF during his term.
“Roxas is just one of his lieutenants, he is not the boss. The call is still Aquino’s, and settling the Moro question and the armed conflict is (in the) national interest of this country, which we believe no sensible person would oppose,” the MILF said.
“Is he so naïve that he cannot feel or know this need? We strongly believe he is not that person or leader now. In fairness to him, he is not a cheap leader or politician; he simply did not see the need for the MOA-AD’s signing, as others saw it,” the MILF said of Roxas.
The peace talks with the MILF being held in Kuala Lumpur are at an advanced stage and Malacañang has even announced that a deal might be reached before the end of the year.