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Monday, August 04, 2008
MILF to Mindanaoans: Build on trust
DAVAO CITY -- The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has called on the people of Mindanao to promote trust, understanding, and cooperation and not hatred and mistrust.
This call came after several local chief executives expressed strong opposition to the signing of the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD) between the MILF and the National Government.
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Muhammad Ameen, chairperson of the MILF secretariat, was reacting to the statement of North Cotabato Vice Governor Emmanuel Piñol over the radio recently, which was said to be "very divisive and full of malice."
"Piñol urged the government never to agree to sign a peace agreement, saying if the MILF is in power, it would buy planes, tanks, and ships and use them to secede from the Republic of the Philippines. These are childish statements and should not be heeded seriously by the national leadership," Ameen said.
The MILF said armed settlers in North Cotabato who are fighting against armed Moro civilians are reportedly taking orders from Piñol.
The vice governor, however, vehemently denied this, saying he is not against the peace agreement per se but merely wanted his province not to be included in the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity that will be placed under the control of the MILF.
Piñol cited three basic issues behind opposition to the immediate signing of the document:
1. Inclusion of 175 barangays in North Cotabato, including the whole of Pikit and Kabacan, in the so-called Category B areas of the proposed Expanded Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm) where a plebiscite, the third for us, will be held one year from now.
The government negotiators say the inclusion of the villages was based on the presence of Muslim residents.
This is an erroneous assumption because immediately we could point out Barangay Daig in Tulunan and Barangay Malinao in Banisilan as two areas without Muslim residents.
This alone is enough to justify our demand that before the MOA is signed and before the government negotiators commit to include us in that agreement, an exhaustive consultative process with the leaders and the people of North Cotabato should be conducted.
2. Unofficial copies of the draft agreement obtained showed that the MOA on ancestral domain already defines the territory of the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity, including Internal Waters that we understand to include Liguasan Marsh and Lake Buluan.
According to those who read the draft MOA, the provision on Internal Waters states: "the BJE shall have jurisdiction over the management, conservation, development, protection, utilization and disposition of all natural resources, living and non-living, within its internal waters extending 15 kilometers from the coastline of the BJE area."
The question is: If they are referring to Liguasan Marsh and Buluan Lake as part of their Internal Waters, that would mean the MILF/BJE will have jurisdiction over areas located within 15 kilometers from the coastline of the Marsh and the Lake.
In relation to the Liguasan Marsh, this would mean they would have jurisdiction over almost 1/2 of the towns of Tulunan, M'lang, Matalam, Kabacan, Pikit, Aleosan, Midsayap, Libungan and Pigcawayan and even if we say "No" to the inclusion of these areas to the Expanded Armm in the proposed plebiscite, the MILF/BJE would still have effective control over a vast part of the Province of North Cotabato.
3. In spite of our insistence that there should be disarmament after the signing of the peace agreement with the MILF, the draft MOA indicates otherwise. In fact, according to those who read the draft of the MOA on Ancestral Domain, there is a provision, which states:
"...the BJE shall be empowered to build, develop and maintain its own institutions, inclusive of civil service, electoral, financial and banking, education, legislation, legal, economic and police and internal security force, judicial system and correctional institutions, necessary for developing a progressive Bangsamoro society..."
This means that instead of destroying the weapons of death and destruction, the MILF will now even be legally allowed to establish its own police and armed forces, Piñol said. (Ben O. Tesiorna of Sun.Star Davao/Sunnex)For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Manila. (August 4, 2008 issue)
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