Monday, July 21, 2008 MILF to give documents to Piñol
THE Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) advised North Cotabato Vice Governor Emmanuel Piñol to refrain from filing a case before the Supreme Court (SC).
The MILF promised to give Piñol a copy of the memorandum of agreement (MOA) on ancestral domain once it is signed.
In a report by www.luwaran.com, MILF deputy chair on information Khaled Musa said it will only be a waste of time and effort to ask the SC to intervene when the MILF would readily grant Piñol's desire.
"It is a waste of people's money and effort that you go to the Supreme Court in Manila just to compel the government to divulge the content of the MOA-AD to you. We will give you a copy as soon as it is signed. Just don't be in haste," Musa said.
The Muslim secessionist group said the MOA-AD is expected to be formally signed late this month or early next month.
Musa said the MOA-AD will be released to the public once the parties sign it.
Piñol, however, said waiting for the MOA-AD to be signed to get access to the document would be too late. He said they wanted to know immediately if North Cotabato is indeed included in the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) that will be placed under the control of the MILF once the forging of a peace agreement between the MILF and the government is done.
Piñol said if true, the decision to include North Cotabato in the BJE areas was made without consulting the people and was in violation of the Local Government Code, which "requires all national agencies and offices to conduct periodic consultations with appropriate local government units, non-government and people's organizations, and other concerned sectors of the community before any project or program is implemented in their respective jurisdictions" as stated in Section 2(c) of Republic Act (RA) 7160.
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Hermogenes Esperon Jr. earlier said a plebiscite would determine the composition of the new territory to be considered the ancestral homeland of three million Moros in Mindanao.
The territory referred to as the BJE is the current Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm), which may be expanded to include 712 barangays in five provinces in Central Mindanao.
The five provinces are Lanao del Norte, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Zamboanga-Sibugay and Palawan.
Esperon said the new territory would cover a "considerable" land area. If the residents agree to be included in the new territory through the plebiscite, their barangays or towns will comprise an expanded Armm. (BOT)
