Press Release
July 9, 2009

STATEMENT OF SENATOR AQUILINO Q. PIMENTEL, JR.

On government-MILF peace talks

The ancestral domain thing for the Moros can be threshed out under a federal form of government. There is no other way of doing it. But this will need a constitutional amendment. Otherwise, you will dangle the same thing which has been rejected by them. The danger is at some future time, another group will say, we are not MILF.

There has to be a Bangsa Moro Federal State under my proposal.

On plan of President Arroyo to seek OIC help in Mindanao peace talks during her trip to Egypt to attend the Non-Aligned Movement

Any effort to bring in the moral support of the Organization of Islamic Conference is a step in the right direction. Among the Muslim countries, I would suggest that we seek the help of Indonesia. Indonesia has always been a friend of the Philippines in that respect.

Even during the Marcos years, Indonesia has discouraged the smuggling of arms, for example, from their end to our part of the country. On the matter of encouraging the rebels to take up arms, Indonesia has always put down any effort of that kind.

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