Saturday, August 30, 2008 Palace execs refuse to attend homeland deal hearing By Grace L. Plata
IT LOOKS like the Senate committee hearing on the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) will end up just like the hearings of the national broadband network (NBN)-ZTE deal -- inconclusive.
This, as the officials invited to the joint hearing of the committees on peace and unification chaired by Senators Jamby Madrigal and Rodolfo Biazon, respectively, have once again used "executive clemency" so as not to attend the hearings.
"If this continues, we will be forced to subpoena Secretary (Hermogenes) Esperon," Madrigal said in an interview Thursday night at the Waterfront Insular Hotel.
Madrigal was in town as guest to the Kusog Mindanaw roundtable discussion on the MOA-AD where Esperon was main speaker.
Earlier Thursday, Madrigal met with members of the International Monitoring Team (IMT) at the Grand Regal Hotel.
"I am happy that their stay has been extended for three months so that the peace process can continue. I am proud to have met such competent men who have genuine desire for peace. I think that is why malaki ang tiwala sa kanila ng MILF," Madrigal said, following Esperon's announcement of the extension Thursday night.
According to Madrigal, the review and renegotiation of the MOA-AD is not the most important thing at the moment.
"Ceasefire muna ang una before renegotiation. I wonder what stops the government from using the existing ceasefire mechanism provided in the Tripoli Agreement. Nandiyan na 'yan, di na kailangan to come up with a new ceasefire agreement," Madrigal said.
She added that the government should show goodwill by ceasing attacks to encourage the MILF to do the same.
"Yung rogue commanders, dapat nang hulihin but it should be done by the police. After all, what were done were criminal acts," Madrigal said.
Esperon, however, defended the military stance, saying that only three out of the 17 MILF guerilla base commands are under ongoing "police operation" -- Lanao, North Cotabato, and Maguindanao.
"This is a legitimate function of the government, to protect the people from attacks and this is not a violation of the ceasefire," Esperon said.
"The peace panel is also asking the other commanders not to dip their fingers in the conflict with the three other commands," he added.
Women's rights advocate Irene Morada-Santiago, however, hushed Esperon. She said: "Bombs from the air are not police but military action."
But Esperon replied that the state's police powers involve the military.
