‘Exclude Zamboanga City from Bangsamoro region’

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – The city government has appealed to incoming president Rodrigo Duterte to exclude the city from the Bangsamoro region under the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

“For the love of the city… we should not be included in the BBL. Now or ever, neither our municipal waters because that is the lifeblood of our fisherfolk and fishing and canning industries that are thriving in the city,” Zamboanga City Mayor Isabella Climaco-Salazar said yesterday.

Duterte had promised the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and Moro Islamic Liberation Front that they would have their own territory under the federal form of government that he is espousing.

MNLF chairman Nur Misuari has been pushing for the inclusion of Zamboanga City in the expanded Muslim autonomous region.

Salazar said the city government should be allowed to purchase the Cabatangan complex – a property of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in the city. The 96-hectare complex used to house various ARMM offices.

She said they would also push for the return of a regional center that was transferred to Pagadian City in Zamboanga del Sur under an executive order issued by the late president Corazon Aquino as well as the construction of an international airport in Barangay Mercedes under the planned cities extension project.

Salazar said she would relay these concerns if given the chance to have an audience with Duterte. She said the incoming president’s intervention is necessary in line with their program to build back a better city after the 2013 siege.

Reconsider Visaya’s appointment

Meanwhile, human rights group Karapatan said Duterte should reconsider his decision to appoint Southern Luzon Command chief Lt. Gen. Ricardo Visaya as Armed Forces chief of staff.

Karapatan secretary general Cristina Palabay said Visaya is a human rights violator like his mentor, retired Gen. Jovito Palparan.

Palabay said Visaya was the ground commander during the 2004 Hacienda Luisita massacre and the implementation of “Oplan Bantay Laya” during the Arroyo administration.

Visaya was responsible for the killing and forcible evacuation of farmers and lumads in the Caraga and Northern Mindanao regions, she added.

“Visaya should be prosecuted for the crimes he committed against the Filipino people,” she said. – With Artemio Dumlao