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What is GMAs agenda in the ancestral domain agreement?—Frank Drilon

OPINION

I have not come across an agreement where the violations of the Constitution are so brazen and reckless as what I have seen in the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain between the Government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front . In fact, the Terms of Reference and the entire MOA-AD cite numerous agreements, laws and international conventions, but omit any reference to the Philippine Constitution.

The MOA-AD contains the terms and conditions agreed upon by the GRP and the MILF on Ancestral Domain, or the Muslims historical claim over the Southern Philippines as their homeland, which was one of the three issues in the peace process under the 2001 Tripoli Agreement.

The most violent objection against the MOA-AD is the gross violation of the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of the Philippines. It creates a state, with all sovereign powers and institutions.

Under the MOA-AD the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity 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.

The listing of institutions that the BJE can create is not exclusive. The BJE is empowered to build, develop and maintain other state institutions without limit.

The BJE shall have its own legislature whose laws will not be subject to national laws passed by Congress. The BJE shall also have its own courts whose decisions will not be reviewable by the Supreme Court. The most alarming and destructive power granted to the MILF is the power to build, develop and maintain its own…police and internal security force, in violation of express provisions of the Constitution.

BJE in UN, Asean

Moreover, the GRP recognized right of the BJE to enter into agreements with any friendly country and the option to establish and open trade missions in foreign countries with which it has economic cooperation agreements. The GRP is also under obligation to ensure BJEs participation in ASEAN and the UN.

Under the MOA-AD, it is the birthright of all Moros…to identify themselves as Bangsamoros, a distinct people consisting of those who are natives or original inhabitants of Mindanao … Palawan and the Sulu archipelago.

The territory of the Bangsamoro homeland is well defined, referring to the land mass as well as the maritime, terrestrial, fluvial and alluvial domains, and the aerial domain, the atmospheric space above it, embracing the Mindanao-Sulu-Palawan geographic region.

The ownership of the Bangsamoro ancestral domain is vested exclusively in the Bangsamoro people, and such ancestral domain no longer forms part of the public domain, with the BJE given the power to revoke any such titles, permits, concessions and land tenure arrangements granted by the GRP.

The BJE shall have exclusive jurisdiction over internal waters extending 15 kms. from the coastline and shall exercise, with the GRP, joint jurisdiction over territorial waters consisting of our 200-mile economic zone.

Thus, the attributes of an independent and sovereign state, i.e. government, distinct territory, and distinct people, are all present. The MOA-AD creates a Bangsomoro state within the Philippine territory. This is dangerous.

Groundwork for secession

There is a growing support for federalism as a means of empowering local governments. But the MOA-AD is not about federalism. It lays the groundwork for secession. We support the right of our Muslim brothers and sisters to self-determination, but this should not come at the expense of our countrys sovereignty and the integrity of our national territory.

Under the MOA-AD, the ARMM will be replaced by the BJE. The BJE is not one of the political units authorized to be created under the Constitution. The BJE will exercise powers much broader than an autonomous region. In fact, the BJEs relationship with GRP is described as associative, a relationship appropriate only among sovereign nations.

The other dangerous aspect of the MOA-AD is the removal from the Philippine public domain of the Bangsamoro homeland, and vesting in the BJE exclusive ownership over its defined territory. As a consequence of that exclusive ownership over its Ancestral Domain, the BJE will exercise control and jurisdiction over all natural resources and potential sources of energy.

Under our Constitution, what MILF claims as ancestral land is part of the public domain where all lands, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum and other mineral oils, all forces of potential energy and other natural resources are owned by the State. Under the MOA, BJE would now be exclusive owner of such land.

The MOA-AD does not respect vested rights over private property, as it provides that land tenure instruments of any kind or nature whatsoever granted by the Philippine Government shall continue to operate xx unless otherwise modified and or cancelled by the BJE. This brazen disregard of vested rights is a flash point which can trigger conflict, not only between Christians and Muslims, but between Muslim and Lumads as well.

Not a mere scrap of paper

The wanton disregard of the Constitution in the MOA-AD is beyond dispute. But it is argued that its provisions shall come into force only upon effecting the necessary changes in the legal framework, which the defenders of the MOA-AD assert refers to amendments to the Constitution. To the Government, the MOA-AD is simply a scrap of paper and merely a listing of consensus points.

This is completely wrong and maliciously misleading. The MOA-AD had brought conflict and caused over 100 deaths. People do not kill and get killed for a mere scrap of paper.

Clearly in the eyes of the MILF, the MOA is both a legal and moral commitment on the part of the Government to implement its terms. A mere scrap of paper is not supposed to be signed in front of many international dignitaries in an elaborate ceremony, some of whom are endorsers or witnesses. The hollowness and falsity of this argument is belied by the actions on the ground. Perhaps the MOA is something else, but definitely not a scrap of paper.

Violation of separation of powers

It is also wrong to insist that the Executive Department can commit to amend the Constitution in an agreement with the MILF. Under Article XVII of the Constitution, the Executive Department has no role in the process of constitutional amendments.

Moreover, the GRP panel obligated itself that in effecting the necessary changes to the legal framework, the same must be done with due regard to non-derogation of prior agreements. This means that the President committed that any amendments to the Constitution must conform to the MOA-AD. The President cannot commit Congress, which has the power to propose amendments to the Constitution. It violated the principle of separation of powers.

We believe that a peace agreement should find a common ground to enable as many sectors to unite behind the agreement. The MOA-AD, instead of providing a common ground to unite us, caused division among our people.

I cannot believe that President Arroyo sincerely believed that the MOA-AD in its present form can achieve stability, unity and peace.

So what is her agenda?