Bacolod City — Bacolod Bishop Vicente Navarra has called on the government not to give up on the peace efforts in Mindanao despite the recent killing of Philippine Army soldiers by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
The bishop said he supports the position of President Aquino for all-out justice for the victims of the Mindanao killings.
But he clarified that justice should be achieved through legal means and not through an all-out war.
“An all-out war should not be pursued as escalating violence is not the solution to the problems there,” the bishop told a news conference on Wednesday during the end of the Bacolod Diocesan Pastoral Assembly at the CICM Maryshore Seminary in Talisay City, Negros Occidental.
“We must pursue peace talks at all costs. I appeal to cooler heads to see to it that the conflict in Mindanao does not escalate to war,” Navarra said. “Let us all pray for reconciliation and peace.”
The bishop also said the pursuit for local peace talks with communist rebels should also be continued because it is only in dialogue that people can reach out to one another.
The bishop said the Social Action Center of the Diocese of Bacolod is also working for possible peace talks with leaders of the New People’s Army in Negros Occidental.
“As bishop of Bacolod, I am requesting our brethren in the hills to give talks to resolved differences a chance,” Navarra said. /INQUIRER