SolGen: Aquino-Murad meet not connected with ARMM poll postponement

The government on Tuesday allayed fears that the meeting between President Benigno Aquino III and Al Haj Murad, head of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), is connected with the postponement of the elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). During the oral arguments in the Supreme Court regarding the postponement of the ARMM elections, Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz denied that there is plan to put MILF members as officers in charge of ARMM. “Let us not speculate. All of these things that were said were in the realm of speculations," Cadiz told reporters. “Let us not put any other meaning on that." He maintained that the Aquino-Murad meeting, which was held in Tokyo, had no other purpose but to fast-track the peace negotiations between the government and the MILF, which has been fighting the government for the last three decades. “The meeting in Tokyo between the leadership of the MILF and the President was a meeting between people of good will, people who want to talk and people who want to show sincerity to each other," Cadiz said. The fact that government officials were mum on the details of the Tokyo meeting, however, continues to raise fears among critics. Former lawmaker Jacinto Paras, one of the petitioners against the ARMM poll postponement, said he is worried about the MILF’s intention in secretly meeting with Aquino two weeks ago. “Anything secret is always suspect," Paras said, noting that MILF spokesman Mohager Iqbal had admitted in media interviews that they will proceed with some of the provisions of the draft agreement — the controversial Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) — that the Supreme Court nullified in 2008. Paras also said the MILF’s pronouncement that it is giving up its secessionist stance in favor of controlling a sub-state in Mindanao is worrisome. “Those in the know like us know what sub-state is. It will violate the Constitution so sana asikasuhin muna ang amendment ng Saligang Batas bago tayo gagalaw," he said. — KBK, GMA News