s

Kalilintad Development Foundation, Inc.

Urban, San Emmanuel, Tacurong City
Sec. Reg. No. Cn200826449

March 19, 2015

STATEMENT

We, the Kalilintad Development Foundation Inc. (KDFI) with Peace Loving Peoples of Cotabato
City, Province of Maguindanao, Tacorong City and Province of Sultan Kudarat, are one with the
entire nation in working for justice in behalf of our fallen SAF officers, non-state fighters, and
civilians who perished with them in Mamasapano.
History has taught us that justice and peace must go together. At the backdrop of the Senate and the
Board of Inquiry (BOI) investigation report on the tragic Mamasapano incident, the country is very
slowly walking the road to peace. We already know that we are presented with a road less travelled.
But this road may lead us to a place where our hopes become realities.
Clearly, this road is leading us to a difficult journey. But we must stay the course. We believe that its
the only way to reach our destination. But before we get there, we must take the legislative track.
This is where the House of Representatives must fulfill its job as legislators. The people elected them
precisely for such purpose. Unfortunately, some of them have yet to see reason. Some of them are
delaying the floor debates on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL). We object to the signed
petition of 52 Congressmen and women dated March 18, 2015, which is pushing to postpone the
hearings on the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) so they can duplicate the Senate probe on the
Mamasapano incident.
Postponement of the scheduled BBL hearings will not only derail two decades of peace work and
confidence-building efforts but it will also shortchange the people living in the Bangsamoro areas
their best chance to achieve sustainable peace and development. Without this new paradigm offered
by the BBL, their lives will never change. They will continue to live in a vicious cycle of war and
poverty.
Let us make our legislators understand the repercussions of their actions. We must let them know
how important the BBL is to our moro brothers and sisters. We must convince them to take the side
of peace lest they lose the chance to re-write our nations history.

Together, let us inform the peoples representatives in Congress that it is not cowardice to rethink
their positions. Rather, it is bravery to embrace genuine reform. Let this be our shared plea as one
peopleMuslims, Christians, lumads.
Walang imposible kung pagtutulungan natin.

ESMAEL A. ABDULA, MPA-IM

KDFI Senior Consultant

MOIDJODDIN K. TALUSOB
KDFI Executive Directo