Monday, August 18, 2008 Villar to aborted MOA: 'It would have been worse'
SENATE President Manuel Villar said recently that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo could face impeachment raps had the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) been signed by the representatives of the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to the peace process.
"It would have brought more chaos than the chaos that it is wreaking right now," Villar said.
"There are clear signs of violations of the constitution," Villar told Sun.Star Davao last Thursday at the sidelines of the Davao Sportswriters Forum held at Gaisano Mall of Davao.
The same sentiment was echoed by the Supreme Court (SC) last Friday when it called the MOA-AD as unconstitutional.
SC Associate Justice Antonio Carpio particularly hit on the provisions of the MOA-AD, which provides for the creation of a Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) to maintain its own police and military forces and to have a separate justice system as among those that are not in accordance with the Constitution.
In a report last Saturday, Carpio said that under the Constitution, the country should have only one justice system headed by the SC.
He also questioned the provision in the MOA for the conduct of a plebiscite after 25 years under the BJE's coverage, saying it is only the legislative body that can decide on the matter.
He also criticized the lack of consultation with the people in areas that would be affected by the agreement.
Villar meantime chided Press Secretary Jesus Dureza for challenging the senate to stand firm on its resolution, which allegedly proposes amending the 21-year-old Philippine Constitution.
"There is no resolution to stand firm upon, it is a proposed resolution not yet a resolution supporting charter change," Villar said referring to the controversial Senate Resolution 10.
The Senate Resolution allegedly calls for the convening of Congress into a Constituent Assembly for the purpose of amending the 1987 Constitution to establish a federal form of government.
"What it is intended to do is to start the talks, for us to discuss the possibility of federalism," Villar said
"What we signed for was for the discussions to start, para talakayin ng maayos," he added.
Villar also stood firm that any changes in the constitution should be made after the 2010 Presidential Elections.
"Para hindi magamit for the extension of anyone's term, sisiguraduhin natin na walang term extension (We will make sure that there will be no term extensions), Villar said. (CPM)
