AFP vows P-Noy's safety in MILF visit

MANILA, Philippinwa - The military on Thursday assured the public that President Aquino would be safe when he visits the stronghold of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Monday.

“We guarantee the safety of the president. Preparations are underway for the safety and protection of the president. We have enough troops dedicated for (that),” Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) spokesman Col. Arnulfo Burgos Jr. said in an interview.

Members of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division would provide security to the president and his party.

Col. Dickson Hermoso, spokesman of the division, said they are coordinating with the Presidential Security Group and the police regional office to thresh out the security preparations.

The MILF is optimistic that no untoward incidents would happen during Aquino’s visit.

“The government will handle the security. We will play a part in the security but only minor. The government will play the major part,” said Ghadzali Jaafar, vice chairman of the MILF.

“It’s (president’s visit) a boost to the peace talks between us and government,” he added.

Aquino will visit the Bangsamoro Leadership and Management Institute in Maguindanao on Monday to launch various socio-economic programs that would benefit the Bangsamoros.

The school is said to be very near Camp Darapanan, the main headquarters of the MILF.

In a statement, Cabinet Secretary Jose Almendras said the initiative, dubbed as “Sajahatra Bangsamoro,” seeks to uplift the health, education and livelihood conditions of MILF communities.

The program was designed to highlight the partnership of the government and the MILF in working towards peace and development.

MILF chairman Murad Ebrahim, Almendras, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles, government and MILF peace panel members, and representatives from the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Health, Philippine Health Insurance Corp., Department of Education, Commission on Higher Education, Department of Agriculture and  Technical Education and Skills Development Authority are expected to witness the event.

Malaysian facilitator Tengku Dato Ab' Ghafar Tengku bin Mohammed and Malaysian head of secretariat Che Khasna were also invited.

“Sajahatra Bangsamoro” would include the distribution of health insurance to MILF members,  upgrading of community-based health services, giving of college scholarships and technical-vocational training, educational assistance to Islamic schools and private schools needs assessment of selected Bangsamoro communities and the implementation of the Cash for Work Program/

A caravan will visit selected Bangsamoro communities to provide the services to the beneficiaries.

The government and the MILF moved closer to signing a peace pact after it inked the historic Bangsamoro framework agreement last Oct. 15 in Malacanang.

The deal would form a new political entity that would replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which President Aquino had called “a failed experiment.”

The proposed entity will have to be formed through legislation. The government and the MILF are now completing the annexes of the agreement including power-sharing, transitional arrangement, normalization and wealth sharing.