ZAMBOANGA CITY (MindaNews/16 October) – The Zamboanga City Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc. (ZCCCIFI) has called on the public to give the peace process a chance to succeed.
Pedro Rufo Soliven, ZCCCIFI president, issued the statement after the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) was signed on Monday by the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
The agreement was signed in Malacañang by chief government negotiator Marvic Leonen and his MILF counterpart, Mohagher Iqbal.
President Benigno Simeon Aquino III, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, MILF chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, and other top government officials stood as witnesses.
“Let’s give the peace framework a chance to succeed. We respect all opinions, it’s a matter of perception, but one thing we all agree, the quest for lasting peace is now, more than ever. Let’s give it a chance,” Soliven said.
“Any peace initiative for lasting peace in Mindanao is a welcome development,” Soliven added.
However, he stressed that the Framework Agreement must all be inclusive subject to democratic process where all stakeholders in Mindanao shall be given the right to decide their future.
The ZCCCIFI is the second Zamboanga City-based group that manifested support for the success of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro.
The first was the Inter-Religious Solidarity Movement for Peace (IRSMP), which urged their fellow religious and lay leaders, including associates and collaborators in the big family of civil society in Mindanao, to throw their support behind the FAB.
Both the ZCCCIFI and IRSMP are for a long and lasting peace to reign here in Mindanao.
The IRSMP works to create harmonious relationships within and among individuals, groups, from various sectors and levels; and develop an awareness, appreciation and understanding of problems and issues affecting the local Muslim, Christian, and indigenous people’s communities. (MindaNews)