President Benigno S. Aquino III. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines –While the government does not intend to lobby for President Benigno Aquino III’s nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize, such a possibility would bring the highest honor to the country, said a Malacañang official on Monday.
“It would be an honor for the Philippines to have President Aquino nominated,” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said in a televised press briefing.
“It is, in the eyes of the international community, a big milestone for the promotion and propagation of peace,” he added, referring to the Aquino administration’s success in clinching the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).
Malacanang on Sunday denied reports that Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) Secretary Teresita Deles was lobbying for Aquino’s nomination during her last visit to Norway.
“I definitely confirm that I am not lobbying for (President Aquino’s) nomination for Nobel peace prize. I wouldn’t even know how to do it,” Deles had told INQUIRER.net.
Malacañang confirmed that Deles attended a conference in Oslo, Norway, where she met Nobel Peace Prize laureates Kofi Annan and Tawakkol Karman but that there were no lobbying efforts.
However, Lacierda pointed out, that “since Aceh, there has been no significant peace accord reached. Hence, it is possible that there are groups who do wish to nominate the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro.”