Iligan City residents protest vs MOA with MILF

ILIGAN CITY, Philippines - More than 10,000 residents of Iligan City marched Monday to protest the memorandum of agreement between government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front regarding the Bangasamoro Juridical Entity. The focus of the protest was the proposed inclusion of eight Iligan City barangays - which is more than 80 percent of the city - in the entity. Those barangays were identified as Digkilaan, Hindang, Rogongon, Panoroganan, Lanipao, Dulag, Mainit and Lanipao. In Lanao del Norte, the municipality of Linamon, the smallest town in the province with eight barangays was also included in the so called ancestral domain of the BJE. Iligan City Mayor Lawrence Cruz, who addressed the protesters carrying banners and streamers calling on government not to divide the city, said Iliganon were deceived and betrayed by the government peace negotiating panel whose members kept the deal secret. Mayor Cruz said that the eight barangays covered about 65,500 hectares or 82 percent of the total land area of Iligan city. These barangays are source of major producers of agricultural products because of its fertile land, rainforests and mineral deposits. The eight barangay captains of the villages are strongly opposed to the inclusion of their areas in the entity. Iligan City in past two Autonomous Regions in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) plebiscites overwhelmingly voted "NO" with 97 percent rejection. "Why are we still included that we have already made our stand before hand?" Mayor Cruz said. Cruz expressed fears that future plebiscites might be marred by intimidation and vote-buying to produce "YES" in selected areas included in the BJE. The rally ended peacefully several hours later. - GMANews.TV