LET ME JOIN the groups of Mindanao people who welcome the election of Representative Prospero Nograles of the first district of Davao City as speaker of the House. It is high time for a son of Mindanao to get the fourth-highest position in the Philippine government. Being the fourth top official of the country, he has the power and the connections to hasten the development of Mindanao.

We also believe that the election of Speaker Nograles cannot come at a more opportune time considering that Mindanao’s peace negotiations are likely to end in an agreement.

His election may even fast-track the peace negotiations because he has the power to rally at least the House of Representatives into approving bills that will breathe life to the peace agreement.

Talking about power, the Speaker, the titular head of the House of Representatives, has enough persuasive authority to push for federalism, which to most of people of Mindanao will help shape the peace agreement.

I join Kusog Mindanaw’s Rey Magno Teves in urging the Speaker to push for the approval of federalism to fast track the forging of a peace agreement with the Moro groups.

Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process, Jesus Dureza, in an earlier statement, even proposed that Congress amend the Constitution to specifically address the proposed peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Secretary Dureza knows whereof he speaks considering that at one time, he was the chief negotiator for the government.

The business sector in Mindanao believes that Speaker Nograles can rally the Lower House, and that many of the congressmen from Mindanao are willing to support the proposal to amend the Constitution for the purpose of coming up with federal states to address the decades-old Mindanao conflict.

I hope these legislators, with the leadership of the Speaker, will cross party lines and come up with a solution to the Mindanao conflict by starting the discussion on federalism and, if they find it viable, come up with a law that will make this a reality.

We believe that with the Speaker at the helm of the House of Representatives, the heterogeneous body of legislators will be able to help Mindanao overcome one of the biggest obstacles to its development, the armed conflict.

I believe the Speaker and the rest of the legislators, no matter what their political colors are, will be able to use their legislative powers to come up with the best solution that will help shape Mindanao’s not too distant future.

It is high time that the Speaker and the rest of the people of Mindanao join hands and seize the opportunity for Mindanao to have the peace that has long eluded it.

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