PNoy and Sabah

WE are immensely saddened by the loss of the lives of our Moro brethren in Lahad Datu town and find insensitive and reckless, and therefore unforgivable, the handling of the Aquino government of the issue.

Instead of interceding for the Filipino Muslims through an urgent and diligent negotiation with the Malaysian government for a peaceful resolution of the issue, Aquino ordered a pullout of the Sultan’s royal army from Sabah, saying “surrender now without conditions.”

We are no longer surprised with the Aquino government’s wanton disregard for life. The raw statistics of the 137 victims of extrajudicial killing under the Aquino government is stark evidence.

Aquino’s posturing on the Sabah issue is no different from the positions he has taken in behalf of big transnational corporations, landlords and big business.

But he has never spoken in behalf of the poor and marginalized Filipinos.

One can only guess what transpired during the meeting between President Aquino and
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.

For after that, Razak sounded off his decision to give Sultan Jamalul Kiram III’s group two options: surrender or face the consequences at the hands of the Malaysian security forces.

This seems to coincide with Malacañang’s position that the best and correct thing to do is surrender.

Even after the death of the followers of the Sultanate of Sulu in the firefight that transpired, the Aquino government continued to hold fast to its position that the best thing to do is surrender.

The Sabah claim dates back to the early 1900s, although the Sulu Sultanate is historically older than the Philippine nation state and Sabah of the Malaysian Federation.

In the 1960s, the Philippines pressed a sovereign claim to the territory but this has remained dormant since then. The Aquino government seems oblivious to this, throwing away whatever sense of history it has.

Obviously, Aquino’s position on the issue is in contrast with his attitude with China in the claim for the unpopulated Scarborough strip of islands.

By his action, Aquino completely surrendered the historic claim of the Philippines to Sabah.

Worse, he has abandoned his responsibility to protect his constituents, in this particular case his Moro constituents.

His action manifests the height of apathy to the Moro people’s struggle for self-determination, a puppet’s surrender of the country’s sovereign right, and a weakling’s consequent fascist tendencies.--Karapatan

Team Patay tarps

Akbayan Partylist Cebu expressed disappointment over the “Team Patay” and “Team Buhay” campaign materials in some parishes in Cebu.

This is a clear violation of separation of state and church provision in the Philippine Constitution.

The church must first clean its own backyard before engaging in politics. It should first clean its ranks of alleged child molestation and abuses.

If it is serious in its voters’ education campaign, it must focus on how to choose candidates based on track record and achievement. Voters must be told not to accept money in exchange of votes.

“Walay pagbuot sa Diyos nga makadaut sa tanan. Ang RH Law makaayo sa kinatibuk-an.”--Akbayan Cebu