New Army 6th ID commander invites MILF leaders to play basketball

CAMP SIONGCO, Maguindanao – The newly installed Army division commander has invited Moro rebel leaders to come to their headquarters to prove the military is supporting the Mindanao peace process.

Major General Ceasar Ronnie Ordoyo, who on Wednesday assumed the post of 6^th Infantry Division chief replacing Lt. Gen. Rey Ardo, said Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) leaders “can come and see us here.”

“They (MILF leaders) are welcome here. We can have breakfast, we can have dinner and we can play basketball if they want,” Ordoyo said, addressing his invitation to MILF chieftain Murad Ebrahim.

“This is our gesture of reconciliation and expression of support to the desire of the Bangsamoro people to establish peace which your Army is also pursuing,” he added.

“It’s a welcome development,” Von Al Haq, MILF spokesperson for military affairs, said when he learned about the Army offer.

“We dream of seeing our fighters sitting side by side and play basketball games with Philippine soldiers,” he added.

“Because if that happens, indeed peace is in our midst,” he said in the vernacular.

“Soon it will happen, definitely because we welcome gestures like that,” Al Haq said.

Ordoyo said because of the military’s all out support to the peace process, there have been zero Army-MILF encounter since January this year.

“Our mandate from higher headquarters is to complement the government’s peace initiatives and that is very clear to all foot soldiers under the 6^th ID,” he said in Filipino.

He vowed to follow the suggestions of Ardo to include all stakeholders in his area of jurisdiction to promote peace and development, especially among Christian communities, Moro rebels and government and non-government organizations.