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Sunday, September 07, 2008
Palace junks treason rap call vs 3 officials in homeland deal
MANILA -- Malacañang on Saturday turned down calls to charge three officials with treason over the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD) with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
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Deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez Jr. said those seeking the call for treason charges were not aware of the "background" of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD), which is merely a "term of reference."
"We should not react that way. Before we make judgments we must find out the historical background of the issue," Golez said.
On Friday, Senate President Pro Tempore Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada called for treason charges against presidential peace adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., presidential spokesman Jesus Dureza, and panel chairman retired Lieutenant General Rodolfo Garcia.
Estrada said the three were among those who kept the details of the MOA-AD secret from the people and from Mindanao residents who would have been affected.
But Golez insisted the MOA-AD was just terms of reference, and that there would be a need for a formal agreement and an enabling law for it.
"Their work was just the first step. It's a long way from the finished product," he said.
Golez also said that at the time the MOA was being crafted, consultations were going around the country.
Now that the peace panel has been dissolved, Golez said the government is conducting consultations around the country, not just with the MILF but also with "peace-loving Muslims and ethnic groups."
He, however, declined to comment on calls by the Catholic Church for a new panel, saying the government is "still in consultation with stakeholders."
"They should not be impatient. The President (Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) wants to have a permanent peace in that part of Mindanao and the government is doing everything to make it possible," Golez said. (JMR/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star General Santos. (September 7, 2008 issue)
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