At least that is what he was requested to do. And listened he did, while fielding some hard questions himself.
Senator Benigno S. Aquino, III, at the brink of deciding whether to run for the Presidency his mother once held, and his father coveted, met with an intimate group of Mindanao civil society leaders and peace advocates to explore his potential platform for Mindanao particularly on the peace process should he run for the highest office of the land.
At least that is what he was requested to do. And listened he did, while fielding some hard questions himself.
Senator Benigno S. Aquino, III, at the brink of deciding whether to run for the Presidency his mother once held, and his father coveted, met with an intimate group of Mindanao civil society leaders and peace advocates to explore his potential platform for Mindanao particularly on the peace process should he run for the highest office of the land.
Aquino was asked if he was willing to sit down with Mindanao peace advocates and other stakeholders for a comprehensive briefing on the Mindanao situation before he makes any policy position on Mindanao.
His party mate Sen. Mar Roxas who until Tuesday was his party’s standard bearer before he withdrew to give way to Aquino’s possible run, has been widely regarded as anti- Moro and anti-peace when he strongly opposed the botched Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA -AD) pact that was about to be inked by the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) last year.
Roxas went to the Supreme Court along with Liberal Party Chairman former Senate President Franklin Drilon to stop the signing of the MOA-AD. That act cost Roxas a lot of disappointment and support among the ranks of the Moro people and peace constituency.
Aquino agreed to meet again with the peace advocates soon after his retreat in Zamboanga this weekend.
Aquino was hosted for a lunch meeting by his friend and former colleague at the 11th and 12th Congress, former Pilipina Party List Rep. Patricia Sarenas, who is now the Deputy Director of the Mindanao Commission on Women at their office in a suburban subdivision.
Sarenas was joined by Dam Vertido, Founder of the Mindanao Land Development Foundation, Memen Lauzon, also of IID, Atty. Petite Principe and Atty. Mary Ann Arnado of the Mindanao People’s Caucus and Liza Ugay of the Mindanao Solidarity Network.
Sarenas, who has openly given Aquino her support said she was doing this for her granddaughter Kyra and another grandson who will soon be born. Sarenas was herself ribbed by the peace advocates to consider running for Mayor in the city to present a “Third Force”.
(Gus Miclat is Executive Director of the Initiatives for International Dialogue)
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