Big venue seen needed for peace pact signing

COTABATO CITY—A venue as big as a convention center in Manila would be needed to accommodate foreign and local delegations that are expected to be present to witness the signing of the final peace agreement between the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), according to a top MILF official.

Ghadzali Jaafar, MILF vice chair for political affairs, said the signing of the final agreement is “a very historic event” that would need a spacious venue like the Philippine International Convention Center in Manila.

He said MILF would have to coordinate with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process for the final preparation and expenses for the special occasion, which had been set on March 27.

President Benigno Aquino III would be at the event, a gesture of continuing support for the peace process which the President first made known when he met with MILF chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim in Tokyo in 2011.

According to Jaafar, Aquino and Ebrahim would be the ones to personally welcome delegates “directly and significantly involved in this historic event.”

He said Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, whose country serves as neutral facilitator in the 17-year peace negotiation, has been invited along with other leaders of international communities, key national and local figures in the executive and legislative branches of the Philippine government.

Jaafar said the MILF central committee had met on Monday in Camp Darapanan in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, to finalize the MILF list of invited guests, which include Orlando Quevedo, Mindanao’s first cardinal. Quevedo, a staunch supporter of the peace process, had been personally invited by the President during Quevedo’s 75th birthday celebration on March 11.

In Maguindanao, local leaders are preparing a feast to celebrate the signing of the pact, according to officials.

Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu said the province’s officials feel elated by the announcement of the signing made by Teresita Deles, presidential peace adviser.

Mangudadatu said his province is willing to host the signing.

Officials are planning the hold a “kanduli,” a centuries-old Muslim traditional gathering, just after the signing of the peace pact. Charlie C. Señase and Edwin Fernandez, Inquirer Mindanao