Posted on November 23, 2014 09:24:00
PM [ BusinessWorld Online ]
THE MORO Islamic Liberation Front
(MILF) is opposing the handover of the Cabatangan Government Complex from the
custody of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to the Zamboanga
City government.
On Sunday, the MILF opposed the
transfer of ownership of 96-hectare compound, citing that the property should
become a part of the proposed Bangsamoro region as stated in the peace
agreement the group has inked with the national government.
“Being the prospective lead entity
once the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) is established in 2015, the MILF
is opposed to this sale, because all the assets and properties of the ARMM will
eventually be transferred to the BTA, as provided for in the GPH-MILF Framework
Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB),” the MILF said in an editorial posted on its
Web site Luwaran.
The MILF also scored Zamboanga City
Mayor Maria Isabelle Climaco-Salazar and Zamboanga Rep. Celso L. Lobregat for
wanting to start the process of transferring the ownership immediately.
“The city officials, with one or two
expressing strong reservations, want to buy the property up to the extent of
threatening to file a case of mandamus to force the national government to
agree to the sale,” the MILF also said.
The Cabatangan complex is located
inside the Cabatangan Village in Zamboanga City, which has been a place of a
major armed conflict between government and rebel forces in the past.
In 2001, the complex was seized by
former members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) to protest the
ouster of its Chairman Nur Misuari as head of the ARMM during the time of
former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
The Philippine military then conducted
air strikes on the area before agreeing to an agreement with the MNLF that
ended the conflict.
The complex currently houses several
government offices which include the Commission on Audit and the Civil Service
Commission as well as other government regional offices.
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