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But members of the Philippine delegation and former ARMM governor Parouk Hussin, who sat with the MNLF delegation but was earlier identified as one of the advisers of the Philippine delegation, told MindaNews the amount Ihsanoglu cited is “not new.
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Ihsanoglu said the OIC and the IDB, a specialized organ of the 57-nation OIC, “will get in contact soon with the Government of the Philippines to finalize the administrative and financial requirements so as to benefit from this allocated amount as quickly as possible for the betterment of the people of Mindanao.”
Ihsanoglu said “already, 4.2 million dollars has been approved by IDB” but the latter is waiting for the counterpart fund from the Philippine government.
Hussin, foreign affairs officer of the MNLF under Nur Misuari, was always with Misuari as official MNLF delegates to the OIC activities, until the latter’s detention in late 2001.
The MNLF has been holding an observer status in the OIC since 1977.
Hussin said some of the amount Ihsanoglu mentioned was released “Misuari time” and that during his term (2002 to 2005), no amount was released from the IDB fund because government had no counterpart fund.
Carolyn O. Arguillas/MindaNews)
