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Thursday, October 27, 2005
Tax sharing between gov't, Moro rebels mulled
THE government is amenable to sharing revenues from ancestral domains with Muslim separatist groups as part of the proposed peace agreement to be signed next year.
During a briefing of foreign donors and agencies on the Government of the Republic of the Philippines-Moro Islamic Liberation Front (GRP-MILF) peace talks, government peace panel chair Sylvestre Afable said the government has agreed in principle to sharing of revenues from ancestral lands, one of the contentious issues being discussed.
Afable said no agreement has been signed yet at the plenary level that would show a political settlement with the MILF. "There is a consensus that revenues will be shared (but) the numbers have not been discussed," he added.
Some of the conflict areas in the south, which are among the most economically depressed areas of the country, have been identified as potentially rich in precious metals as well as oil and gas.
"All that have been done in the negotiations and have been signed are at the technical level. Technical agreements are submitted and acknowledged by the other side as basis of discussions and they do not reflect any political commitment of the government," he said.
Afable said the President is also considering offering federal state status to areas covered by the insurgency to sweeten the proposed deal.
He said the government is supportive of lasting peace in Mindanao without having to put politics in the picture.
"President (Gloria Macapagal-) Arroyo ordered funds released for the speedy process of ancestral domain claims by the Bangsa Moro tribes generally professing Islam. This process is going on and is being implemented by the National Commission for Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) and we believe that this process will further push the negotiation process," he said.
The 12,000-strong MILF and other Muslim separatists are claiming that they were robbed of their land during the Spanish colonial rule in the country.
Afable and Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo briefed donor countries and agencies as well as envoys from the Organization of the Islamic Conference 9OIC) on the status of negotiations with the MILF.
The two sides expect to resume technical discussions early next month after Eid al-Fitr, the most important festival on the Islamic calendar, they said.
"Ancestral domain was previously thought to be the most contentious issue in the negotiations. But through meaningful dialogue, both sides have managed to transform a sensitive concern into a point of convergence," Romulo said. (ECV/Sunnex)
(October 27, 2005 issue)
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