Monday, August 04, 2008 Palace told not to sign GRP-MILF ancestral domain accord
THE United Opposition (UNO) on Sunday asked Malacañang to defer the signing of the GRP-MILF (Government of the Republic of the Philippines-Moro Islamic Liberation Front) pact that would pave the way for a comprehensive agreement to end the nearly four decades of armed conflict in Mindanao.
UNO President and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay said this is to avoid further tension in the region, noting the petition filed by the local government of North Cotabato to junk the said agreement and the similar opposition voiced by Zamboanga City officials.
"Tension is brewing in Mindanao and old wounds are being reopened unnecessarily because of this controversial GRP-MILF ancestral domain accord. To defuse the tension, we are asking Malacañang to defer the signing of the MOA (memorandum of agreement) in deference to the SC," Binay said.
He said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should immediately order Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Hermogenes Esperon and GRP panel head Rodolfo Garcia not to push through with the signing of the GRP-MILF MOA on Ancestral Domain, scheduled to be held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on August 5, until the high court resolves the issue.
Earlier, North Cotabato Governor Jesus Sacdalan, Vice Governor Emmanuel Pinol, and other officials of the province filed a petition asking the High Court to junk to MOA.
Government officials from Zamboanga City, led by Mayor Celso Lobregat and Representatives Erico Fabian and Maria Isabelle Climaco, said they will also file a similar petition before the SC on Monday morning.
Local officials of Iligan City led by Mayor Lawrence Cruz also protested the plan to include eight villages in the city in the final draft of the ancestral domain aspect.
The eight affected villages -- Rogongon, the biggest barangay in terms of land area; Panoroganan; Mainit; Dulag; Lanipao; Kalilangan; Hindang; and Diigkilaan -- comprised about 66,502.1464 hectares or 82 percent of the city's total land area, which is 81,335 hectares.
These officials claimed the signing of the agreement would be illegal since "it would place the Philippine republic at a great disadvantage." They claimed they were not consulted in the peace process.
Binay also asked Malacañang to reveal the terms of the agreement with the MILF, since the lack of transparency is aggravating political tensions in the island.
"We sincerely hope that the Palace is not deliberately creating tension in Mindanao by withholding the contents of the agreement of the GRP-MILF accord. In the interest of peace and stability, we hope that they will divulge the terms of the accord to the people of Mindanao at the soonest possible time," he said.
The opposition leader added that Malacañang should defer the signing of the MOA until such time that the agreement can be explained to residents of Mindanao who will be affected by the proposed expansion of Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (Armm) and the holding of a plebiscite on areas covered by the agreement.
"The unjustified lack of transparency in the Mindanao peace process is causing a lot of agitation and hostilities and are reopening old wounds of the age-old Mindanao conflict," Binay said.
"The government owes it to the people of Mindanao to explain what this agreement is all about. At the very least, Malacañang should wait for the SC to decide on the petitions pending before the tribunal."
Meanwhile, UNO Spokesperson Adel Tamano echoed Binay's stand and assailed the Arroyo administration anew for allegedly using the Mindanao peace process to push for its bid to amend the 1987 Constitution as a way to extend Arroyo's stay in power after May 2010.
"It is unfortunate for both Muslims and Christians in the Philippines that GMA has polluted the peace process by negotiating in bad faith, promising the MILF things she cannot deliver, using the process as a backdoor to Charter Change, and, ultimately, setting the conditions for escalating the conflict in Mindanao," Tamano said.
"As shown by the memorandum of agreement (MOA) on the Ancestral Domain Aspect between the GMA (Arroyo) Administration and the MILF, particularly Section 3 on Concepts and Principles, which states that ancestral domain does not form part of the Philippines ' public domain, GMA has effectively ceded part of the territory of the Philippines to the MILF," he added.
"Obviously, GMA is not empowered to give up any part of our country to any group, only the Filipino people can do that in their sovereign capacity and only via amending the Constitution," he said.
Tamano echoed the concern raised by Fr. Eliseo Mercado, a former member of the GRP panel who warned that the signing of the MOA would grant the MILF the status of belligerency and opens the door for a self-declaration of independence.
Mercado said if the Arroyo government fails to implement the ancestral domain accord, it gives the MILF reason to declare independence.
"GMA, being a highly unpopular president, does not have the social capital to convince Filipinos to cede their territory, even for something as laudable as peace in Mindanao. So when the inevitable occurs and the Government fails to deliver its promise to the MILF, the rebels will have a clear casus belli or a justification for acts of war," Tamano added.
Earlier, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said Malacañang should reveal the contents of the GRP-MILF MOA in view of Malacañang's calls for the suspension of the Armm elections.
Pimentel deplored that senators were "kept in the dark" as to the basis of Arroyo's calls for the postponement of the Armm polls scheduled on August 11. "I find that largely irregular for the executive to call for the suspension of the Armm elections without us knowing what the contents of the agreement are," Pimentel said.
Last week, the House committee on suffrage and electoral reforms approved a Palace-certified bill that seeks to reset the regional polls to coincide with the May 2010 national and local polls to give way for the resumption of peace negotiations with the MILF.
The agreement on ancestral domain provides for the inclusion of about 700 more barangays (villages) in the so-called Bangsamoro (Muslim homeland) Juridical Entity. (AH/Sunnex)
