Wednesday, August 06, 2008 Piñol suggests creation of body to study peace pact
NORTH Cotabato Vice Governor Emmanuel Piñol is proposing for the creation of a multi-sectoral commission that will study the proposed memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD).
The commission, he said, would ensure that whatever agreement is reached between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is a result of the consensus from all stakeholders that will be affected by it.
In a press conference after their protest rally Tuesday, Piñol said the Mindanao Stakeholders Commission (MSC) would be comprised of politicians, civic leaders, businessmen, religious leaders, farmers, tribal leaders and all other sectors concerned.
"The MSC will study the MOA-AD so we could come up with a new version that's agreed upon by all sectors," Piñol said.
He said it would be useless for the present MOA-AD to be signed by the government and MILF since it does not reflect the true desires of all stakeholders in Mindanao.
Piñol said he is putting his proposal in paper and will be sending it soon to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process for consideration.
Thousands in red
A day after the Supreme Court (SC) issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the signing of the MOA-AD, an estimated 5,000 people attended the protest rally in the provincial capitol of North Cotabato with most of them wearing red shirt as a sign of their protest on the signing of the controversial peace accord.
"A time to show our courage" was bannered in the stage where North Cotabato residents led by Governor Jesus Sacdalan and Vice Governor Piñol stood and aired their opposition to the MOA.
Piñol said the huge turnout of participants in Tuesday's protest rally is a manifestation that the people of North Cotabato are against the National Government's decision to include many of their barangays in the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE).
He said this should be enough to compel the Arroyo administration to rethink their position to have the MOA-AD signed as soon as possible.
Piñol said the SC decision just shows that the justice system in the Philippines is still dependable and the rule of law still prevails.
He said the TRO by the SC against the signing of the MOA-AD is an indication that something is amiss with the said agreement. For this, Piñol appealed to the leading constitutionalists and lawmakers in the country to make an in-depth study on the controversial MOA to determine its constitutionality.
"To all well-meaning constitutionalists in the country, we are asking you to interpret the constitutionality of this MOA. Help us," Piñol said.
He also said the Senate is poised to make a probe on the MOA-AD as he also encouraged the Lower House to do the same.
"Senators Chiz Escudero, Mar Roxas, and Manny Villar already called me up and they expressed their desire to make an investigation," Piñol said.
He described the unanimous decision made by SC justices on the issuance of TRO as historic. He said this could be the first time that a local government scored against the National Government on such a vital issue.
He added that the unanimous decision of SC is an indication that the writ of mandamus and prohibition case they filed before the high tribunal has good chances to be granted.
North Cotabato officials are opposing the inclusion of 170 barangays of their province on the BJE. A total of 737 barangays all over Mindanao, including the Armm area, are proposed to be included in the MILF territory.
North Cotabato officials are now preparing for their oral argument before the SC on August 15. (BOT)
