MALACANANG said Wednesday that it was unfair for the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) peace panels to be accused of rushing the annex on wealth-sharing of the framework agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) in time for President Benigno Aquino III's State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Monday.
In a press briefing, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said that during the peace talks in Malaysia last week where he was also present, Sona was never mentioned.
"Both sides were trying to come up with a doable, deliverable wealth sharing agreement and at no instance, at no instance, did the State of the Nation Address ever come up in the discussions. It was so far removed," he said.
Aquino sent Lacierda and Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles during the last three days of the six-day talks in Kuala Lumpur where the government and the MILF succeeded in signing the wealth-sharing annex after a two-day extension.
"So, to those who are saying it was signed because of Sona, that’s a very unfair accusation given the amount of work done by Chairman (Miriam) Iya Ferrer, former secretary Senen Bacani, Yasmin Busran-Lao, and all the other members of the negotiating panel," Lacierda said.
He said it was an "injustice" to the hard work that the panel, the President and the Cabinet poured into in coming up with the wealth-sharing agreement to accuse that the signing of the annex was rushed in time for the Sona. (SDR/Sunnex)