by Rutchie Cabahug-Aguhob

Cagayan de Oro City (14 August) -- The League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) in Mindanao and Palawan has appealed to the Supreme Court of the Philippines to resolve with dispatch the issues related to the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD).

This is contained in the "Working For A Just and Lasting Peace: A Statement of Solidarity of the Caucus of Mindanao and Palawan Governors" released to the media after the Aug. 14, 2008 Dialogue for Peace/Discussion on the MOA-AD of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) Peace Panel and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) held at Pryce Hotel, this city.

The dialogue was attended by 16 governors headed by LPP National President Leo S. Ocampos of Misamis Occidental, two vice governors, and one congressman from Mindanao and Palawan.

Ocampos said such appeal is important to minimize misunderstanding and conflict among stakeholders and partners for peace and has called on the GRP-Peace Panel (GRP-PP) and the MILF to adopt actions and decisions relative to the MOA-AD within the legal framework and the rule of law and make them the foundation for subsequent agreements.

He also said regardless of party affiliations or religious persuasions, the LPP remains united for peace and progress amidst controversies arising from the proposed MOA-AD which seeks to provide the preliminary parameters for the establishment of genuine and enduring peace in Mindanao.

"We fully support the peace process and the efforts of the peace GRP-PP in pursuing measures that would finally put an end to more than 35 years of fratricidal conflict that have claimed the lives of so many people, destroyed billions worth of properties and brought untold sufferings to innocent civilians caught in the crossfire of the longest-running secessionist war," Ocampos said.

Likewise, the LPP has enjoined the GRP–PP to conduct wider and comprehensive consultations with local government units (LGU) to help resolve issues that would affect the peace process in Mindanao.

Meanwhile, the LPP has condemned in strongest terms any form of violence perpetrated by any group, party or individual that will undermine the pursuit of peace which tend to escalate the conflict and derail the peace process and calls on the National Government to apply the full force of the law against these violators.

"We also call on the National Government and the LGU's concerned to immediately provide all the needed assistance to the displaced and affected civilians in the areas of conflict," Ocampos added.