TRINKLED

Palace: All will have to submit to SC ruling on Moro homeland

A Palace official declined on Saturday to confirm or deny a report in that the Arroyo administration has already decided not to sign the ancestral domain agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and will instead seek to renegotiate the accord.

In response to reports of a possible renegotiation of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain between the government and MILF, Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said it would be best to just wait for the ruling of the Supreme Court.

The issue is now with the Supreme Court. Let's wait for its ruling and all will have to submit to it when it comes. The highest tribunal is the final aribter. It will rise above the din and noise created by less noble considerations, Dureza said.

The Supreme Court on Friday heard the oral argument of groups opposed to the MOA-AD. Another session on oral arguments of those in favor and against the deal was set on August 22.

The MOA-AD grants Muslims in southern Philippines an expanded territory, subject to a law and a plebiscite, plus wide economic and political powers. One of the controversial provisions is the 75:25 sharing of wealth, in favor of the Bangsamoro state, generated from exploitation of resources, including natural gas and minerals.

No longer sign MOA-AD

According to /Newsbreak sources, the governments peace negotiators will no longer sign the MOA-AD in the face of widespread opposition to it and questions about its constitutionality. Instead, the government will try to renegotiate it with the MILF.

The sources said the governments peace panel first has to inform the MILF about its decision not to sign the MOA-AD, which was supposed to be done August 5 in Malaysia.

The government also has to inform the peace brokers such as the Malaysian government and the Organization of Islamic Conference .

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, in her meeting Friday night with the visiting Prime Minister of Kuwait, said her government would be playing a supporting role and would let civil society groups iron out the problems in the peace process.

Yes, there are political dynamics. We are working to sort them out. The government will assume a supporting role and let non-government organizations support on the peace efforts spearhead the discussions for the problematic concerns. We want to end the conflict that clearly claimed more than 120,000 lives, she said.

Why SC opposed OSG

According to an /Newsbreak source, the Supreme Court turned down the Office of the Solicitor-General's request to postpone the Friday hearing on the MOA-AD since it did not want to be seen as delaying the resolution of the issues raised for and against the MOA-AD.

The Supreme Court also wanted the public to listen to the petitioners, the source said. The high court also saw the need to educate the public on the contents and ramifications of the MOA-AD. Thus, it allowed one of the petitioners to argue its case Friday afternoon after the closed-door session in the morning on OSG's request that the hearing be postponed.

At the same time, by setting another hearing on August 22, the Supreme Court effectively granted OSG's request to postpone the hearing on the ground that it had yet to prepare the government's response to the additional petitions on the MOA-AD filed before the court.

What the Supreme Court heard Friday afternoon was the side of those against the MOA-AD led by local leaders of North Cotabato, the cities of Zamboanga and Iligan, and Liberal Party leaders led by Senator Mar Roxas and former Senate President Franklin Drilon.

They contend they were not consulted on the MOA-AD and that some provisions of the MOA-AD are unconstitutional since it creates an almost separate Bangsamoro state.

Gov't will lose face

In an interview with /Newsbreak Thursday, Prof. Rudy Rodil, member of the governments peace panel, said a decision by the Supreme Court to strike down the MOA-AD would create a major obstacle to the peace process.

Because if it is struck down, the government is going to lose face. Will the other side still believe them? he asked.

Rodil said a decision by the Supreme Court to declare the agreement illegal or unconstitutional may even lead to resumption of armed conflict.

What if the SC strikes down the MOA? There will no longer be a peace process. If there is no peace process, what will we have? Rodil said, adding it would raise the prospects of renewed war, widespread displacement of civilians and other humanitarian problems.

Complication

Rodil, a historian who has studied the armed conflict with Moro rebels since the seventies, said it would be hard to push the peace process forward if the Supreme Court decides against the MOA-AD.

What were seeing now is the difficulty of moving forward if the court strikes it down. Its not a simple problem, he said.

Rodil said a negative ruling would result make it really very complicated.

The thing is, its a negotiation. You agreed. When you talk about renegotiation after a strike , there will be many psychological elements that includes loss of face, he said.

Rodil said the government panel has not yet discussed what it would do in case the Supreme Court strikes down the agreement.

Ret. Gen. Rodolfo Garcia, the head of the government's negotiating panel, told dzMM August 9 that the panel may revisit the MOA-AD in case the Supreme Court decides against it.

Rodil agreed, saying Im sure well talk about how we can move forward.

He stressed the need to continue the negotiations in order to avoid resumption of war.

Whats clear is, we cannot stop the negotiations. Thats how important peace is. Nagkakagulo na nga uli e, Rodil said.

At threshold

Dureza said Saturday the MOA-AD was a breakthrough that could end the armed conflict in the south which has cost 120,000 lives.

Let us not play around with peace. The alternative to peace is war. It is best that everyone--Christians, Muslims, Lumad, government officials, politicians, leaders of civil society, Congress, and those in the judiciary, must all treat the pending issue with sobriety and circumspection and with abiding resolve that all must contribute to install peace in the land, Dureza said.

Dureza, former presidential adviser on the peace process, said the country was at the threshold of a breakthrough in the 11-year effort at reaching a peace agreement with the 12,000-member MILF.

We are almost there. Let's not miss this rare opportunity of finding peace in the land, he added.

Dureza said peace in southern Philippines is paramount and that ever since President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assumed office in 2001, she has been focused and resolute to fine a final settlement in the Mindanao conflict.

When peace comes, development follows. This is not only for Mindanao, he said.

Business opposes MOA-AD

Roxas also said Friday that the business sector has added its voice to the various groups opposed to the MOA-AD.

He said the Makati Business Club, a forum of influential business leaders, has issued a statement opposing the MOA-AD.

The MBC statement said: We oppose the GRP-MILF Peace Panel Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain because it is flawed in the process just as it is flawed in its provisions. What was lost in the process was any appreciation for legitimacy in a democracy that stems from winning consensus, including the consent of the governed. Many, if not all, of its provisions violate the Constitution, which strangely enough the Memorandum never mentions by name.

The Management Association of the Philippines, another influential business association, likewise issued a statement of grave concern on the proposed MOA with the MILF.

We further strongly oppose provisions in the MOA-AD granting the MILF, through the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity , exclusive ownership over the Bangsamoro homeland and removing this area from the public domain, the MAP said in its paid newspaper advertisement.

Even allies of the president in the House of Representatives are against the MOA-AD

According to an informal survey of Rep. Darlene Antonino-Custodio, 136 congressmen, including members of the ruling parties Lakas and KAMPI, are against the MOA-AD, which is already a majority of the 238-member House of Representatives.

US Ambassador Kristie Kenney also said Friday, that the US government would not want to see a separate and independent Mindanao. We believe that lasting peace in Mindanao should be done within the territorial integrity of the Philippines, she said. --with reports from RG Cruz, ABS-CBN News