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| Photo by King Rodriguez |
Duterte said that he is grateful that Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding chairman Nur Misuari accepted his invitation to talk about peace.
"It is with great happiness that I announce to the nation that Chairman Nur Misuari, our brother who heads the MNLF, has finally decided to just accept my invitation for him to talk to us. He has obliged and we are very grateful," Duterte said to the press in Rizal Hall at the Malacañang Palace.
"There is the pending warrant which is lifted now upon my orders so that we can talk and I would like to assure Nur, brother Nur, that there was never any intention to deprive you of your liberty," the President said.
In a chance interview, chief presidential legal counsel Sec. Salvador Panelo explained that Duterte meant, "The court granted the motion, petition of Misuari camp for the purpose of these peace talks. What the prosecutors did was not to oppose it."
Duterte invited Misuari to Malacañang after the Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch 158 decided to suspend the MNLF leader's trial and arrest warrant for the 20-day attacks on Zamboanga City in 2013. Over 200 people were killed and thousands of others were displaced during the attacks.
Misuari , thanked the President for restoring his "partial" freedom.
"I told our dear brother, the President, I was already determined to stay put in the mountains were it not for his call, were it not for his invitation. It’s just that I cannot reject his invitation because I respect him too much," Misuari said.
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