Leni's avowed support to southern peace process cited

BULUAN,
Maguindanao – Two administration lawmakers are confident voters
in Moro areas will prefer vice presidential candidate Leni Robredo over
rivals for her commitment to forge ahead with the Mindanao peace
process if elected.Liberal
Party’s reelectionist Reps. Sandra Sema and Zajid Mangudadatu, of the
first and second districts of Maguindanao, respectively, had separately
told reporters they are campaigning for her based on her pledge to carry
on Malacañang’s peace overture with Moro sectors if she makes it to the
vice presidency.Robredo
and Gov. Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, who
is LP’s regional figurehead for ARMM, were in Buluan, Maguindanao last
Monday to proclaim the candidacy of Sema, Mangudadatu and provincial
officials led by Mangudadatu’s older brother, Esmael, most known as
Toto,” who is aspiring for a third and last term as provincial
governor.Sema,
who had stood for the now archived draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL),
said Muslim women would also surely vote for Robredo for her promise to
focus on programs that could hasten the socio-economic development of
Moro communities made poor by armed conflicts. Women,
particularly mothers, are the most affected whenever there are
conflicts. They are so pained seeing their children drop out from school
and languish in evacuation centers due to conflicts and so it is
fascinating for them to see Leni talk about wanting to have peace in
Moro areas,” Sema said.Sema
is identified with the Moro National Liberation Front owing to the
chairmanship of her spouse, Datu Muslimin Sema, of the largest of three
factions in the MNLF, which forged a peace pact with Malacañang on
September 2, 1996 while yet a monolithic organization led then by Nur
Misuari.Sema and Mangudadatu also both supports the government’s on-going peace overture with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. There
is a need for the next administration to nurture the gains of the
Mindanao peace process, which is a tedious process,” Sema said.She
said voters in Maguindanao are more interested in political discourses,
by presidential and vice presidential candidates, that are focused on
how they are to address the security issues besetting the Moro
communities. When
she (Robredo) came to Buluan last Monday, she did not only talk about
the peace process, but also wore the traditional Muslim head cover for
women. For us, that was so important,” Sema said. Talking about the peace process is one thing, showing respect for our customs and traditions is another thing,” she added.Sema
said the Mindanao Moro issue has religious, political and
socio-economic dimensions and the repetitive use in the past of military
strength to quell the southern rebellion did not solve the problem. Now
people, particularly women, the mothers, listen attentively to
candidates who talks of viable solutions to the problem, solutions that
are not violent, solutions that are meant to bring in peace in the
context of the international right-to-self determination doctrine,” Sema
said.