TAGUM CITY – More than 300 Moro residents here and elsewhere in the region spill into the streets and a public park here and hang green streamers and buntings in a festive mood to celebrate what they say is “historic” day for the Bangsamoro communities here, as Malacanang and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) signed the peace pact today.
The city’s major thoroughfares are adorned with green flags, leaflets and streamers with words “Long Live the Bangsamaro Government” leading to the Rotary Park.
A short program was held at the Rotary Park Thursday morning.
Joining the said celebration are MILF members and Moro communities from Tagum City and Compostela Valley province.
Davao’s Regional Institutional Development Officer (R-IDO) Abdul Rasad Sawat told DavaoToday that “this day marks a historic milestone for the Bangsamoro people in Mindanao as a new peace agreement will usher a permanent peace in the island.”
“The Moro communities in Mindanao have been long longing for tranquility and harmony. This historic day is for all of us who wants peace as part of nation-building,” Sawat said.
Even ordinary civilians also joined the festive mood.
“No amount of words could describe what we feel right now. We achieved a resounding victory for the Bangsamoro people,” Akbhar Sampulna, a resident from Maco, ComVal shared to DavaoToday.
Tausug youth leader Abdul Ashmultan of Tagum said: “We are hoping that both parties will remain committed in the aggreement as we offer this day to our fellow Muslims who shed blood just to acheive peace in Mindanao.”
The Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) will be signed in Manila this Thursday afternoon between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Philippine government after 17 years of hard negotiations. (Mart D. Sambalud/davaotoday.com)
