TO REDS / PALACE: ERAP STRUCK DEAL W/ ABB
MANILA,
NOVEMBER 4, 2011 (STAR)
By Jose Rodel Clapano (PHOTO - Nilo dela Cruz, chairman of the
Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa ng Pilipinas-Revolutionary Proletarian
Army-Alex Boncayao Brigade, and John Lana hold a press conference in Quezon City
to clear the issues on the P31-million aid to ABB. BOY
SANTOS)
The word war over a P31-million aid to communist rebels
continued to rage yesterday between officials of the Aquino and Estrada
administrations.
Former budget secretary Benjamin Diokno said the Aquino administration has
the discretion to turn down or continue any government deal entered into by
previous administrations.
Diokno, who served under former President Joseph Estrada, made the statement
in reaction to claims of deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte that the
P31-million government aid for the Rebolusyornaryong Partido ng Manggagawa ng
Pilipinas-Revolutionary Proletarian Army-Alex Boncayao
Brigade (RPMP-RPA-ABB) was inked during the Estrada administration.
Valte also earlier said that the deal was a brainchild of Estrada himself.
Estrada denied Valte's claims, saying there was no such deal with the
RPMP-RPA-ABB during his administration.
For his part, Diokno also denied there was such a deal with the breakaway
communist group during the Estrada administration.
"There was no such deal," Diokno stressed as he warned Malacañang officials
should be responsible for their own actions.
Diokno said he has no knowledge of such an agreement signed during the
Estrada administration.
"In any event, honoring (agreements with rebels) is up to the Aquino
administration. They have chosen to discontinue contracts made by GMA (former
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo). They may also ignore agreements entered into
by Estrada more than 10 years ago if they think it is inappropriate. They should
take responsibility for their acts," he said.
Estrada's former Presidential Management Staff (PMS) chief Eki Cardenas also
agreed with Diokno.
"I checked my records and there was no such deal from the Office of the
President. A deal like that would never pass in audit," he said.
For his part, former agrarian reform secretary Horacio Morales, who was
active in talks with the communist rebels, said that Estrada himself canceled
concessions being considered by the Estrada administration.
Morales said Estrada turned down the concessions when, in spite of talks with
the ABB through the efforts of business tycoon Eduardo Cojuangco Jr, the ABB
still engaged in criminal activities.
"We were considering the release of some political prisoners. Even the
release of political prisoners was cancelled because within days after talks
with the rebels, the ABB engaged in kidnapping again," Morales said.
Malacañang, however, maintained there was such a deal and they have the
documents to prove that Estrada signed an agreement with the ABB where the
government will help fund development projects of the rebel armed group.
Valte said they have incontrovertible data that points to Estrada who signed
the agreement with the communist breakaway group.
This could also be read on the website of the Office of the Presidential
Adviser on Peace Process (OPAPP) under Secretary Teresita Deles, who served in
the same capacity during the early years of the previous Arroyo administration.
"Based on the documents in the custody of the government and as posted on the
OPAPP website, the ceasefire agreement between the government and the RPA-ABB
was signed on Dec. 6, 2000," Valte said.
Malacañang stood pat on its claim, saying it is just pursuing the agreement
the government had forged with ABB that dates back to the time of Estrada in
December 2000.
Valte earlier said the agreement would now bind the Aquino administration to
"commit fund releases for reintegration and development to establish, operate,
and support livelihood projects, housing assistance."
This also includes "education and training, primary health care, agriculture
and irrigation facilities, farm-to-market roads, microfinance, among others,"
according to Valte.
"The funds will be released to the local government units (LGUs) in areas
that will be identified for community development and livelihood assistance,"
she said.
No qualification
Sen. Panfilo Lacson said there should not be any issue with the Aquino
administration's fulfillment of a prior commitment to provide financial support
to the RPA-ABB communities considering the group has long been inactive as
insurgents.
Lacson, chairman of the Senate committee on national defense and security,
said that it is the responsibility of the government to provide livelihood
assistance to families and communities that need it as part of its poverty
alleviation efforts.
"It should not distinguish or qualify anymore which sector should receive it
except for the purpose for which the funds are intended, lest controversy will
hound its implementation as in this case," he said.
Lacson, who served as Philippine National Police chief during the Estrada
administration, noted the RPA-ABB has long been a spent force that has ceased
operations for more than a decade.
This inactivity should mean that the RPA-ABB would no longer pose any threat
as a terrorist organization.
However, Lacson admitted that some feathers could be ruffled with the grant
of funds to the former members of this group, particularly the security forces
that went up against them in the past.
"I don't see any risk except that the financial assistance might open old
wounds on the part of the AFP and police and the relatives of the past victims
of their liquidation operations in the '70s and '80s which could lead to
divisiveness if not demoralization," he said.
A senior military official also said allotting funds for development programs
would help improve the security situation in areas where known insurgents are
living.
Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista, commander of the Army's 3rd Division, said the
development programs would solve the causes of rebellion and would discourage
people from joining armed groups.
"We want them (rebels) to be part of mainstream society. We want them to
abandon the armed struggle. These programs would address the root causes of the
armed struggle," Bautista said.
Bautista's area of responsibility includes Panay and Negros provinces, places
where former members of the ABB live. He said there are about 400 ABB members in
these areas.
"When these programs are implemented in conflict areas, the issues raised by
rebels would be addressed and this would help in the long-term peace and
security situation," Bautista said.
"When there is development, the security conditions in the area will be
enhanced," he added.
Bautista believes the funds would not be given directly to rebels but would
be used to bankroll projects under the Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA)
program.
The OPAPP revealed the funds were derived from the Payapa at Masaganang
Pamayanan (PAMANA), a government program and framework for peace and development
in conflict-affected areas.
PAMANA involves the implementation of projects designed to eradicate poverty
and other causes of insurgency.
"I doubt that the money would be given to ABB. These would be used for
development programs and the entire community will benefit," he said.
Bautista said the OPAPP is still assessing the needs of the communities in
his area.
"The projects have yet to be implemented because the OPAPP is still
conducting profiling (of beneficiaries). They are still determining what
projects are needed. We are helping them and are providing them security," he
said.
Bautista said state agencies and civil society groups would undertake the
development projects.
The grant of P31 million for livelihood and other aid to communities where
ABB members live has drawn criticisms from various sectors. Critics claimed such
policy would encourage people to join insurgent groups.
Senate committee on finance chairman Franklin Drilon previously raised some
concerns about the PAMANA program, which he considered as lump sum
appropriations.
"In other words, we cannot find in the National Expenditure Program the
specification as to the projects for which these funds would be devoted," he
said.
For 2012, the PAMANA program has a proposed total budget of P1.9 billion,
covering four agencies including the OPAPP.
Apart from the OPAPP, the other agencies that would have funds for the PAMANA
program are the Department of the Interior and Local Government, Department of
Social Welfare and Development and the Department of Agrarian Reform.
Drilon has required the OPAPP to provide all the details of the programs that
would fall under its own P329-million share from PAMANA. –
With Delon Porcalla, Alexis Romero, Marvin Sy
Palace: Erap government struck deal with ABB By
Delon Porcalla (The Philippine Star) Updated November 03, 2011 12:00 AM
MANILA,
Philippines - The Aquino administration is pursuing an agreement the government
forged with the communist breakaway group Alex Boncayao Brigade (ABB) during the
term of former President Joseph Estrada in December 2000, a Malacañang official
said yesterday.
This was Malacañang's explanation for the grant of P31 million for livelihood
and other aid to communities where former insurgents and their families live.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the government is
"committed to the five negotiating tables that are pursuing a just and lasting
peace," which include the Revolutionary Proletarian Army-ABB, a breakaway group
of the communist insurgents.
"The RPMP (Rebolusyonaryong Partido ng Manggagawa ng Pilipinas)-RPA-ABB
signed an agreement with the government last Dec. 6, 2000 under the Estrada
administration," Valte said in defending the "reintegration and development
fund" for the RPA-ABB.
Valte said this binds the government – now under the Aquino administration –
to "commit fund releases for reintegration and development to establish,
operate, and support livelihood projects, housing assistance."
This also includes "education and training, primary health care, agriculture
and irrigation facilities, farm-to-market roads, microfinance, among others,"
Valte said.
"The funds will be released to the local government units (LGUs) in areas
that will be identified for community development and livelihood assistance,"
she said.
Estrada, however, denied having signed such an agreement with the ABB during
his term. He challenged Malacañang to present proof that the P31-million fund
that the Aquino administration gave to the RPMP-RPA-ABB was his idea.
"No. We have no agreement. There is no such thing as that. It is not our
brainchild. I challenge them to present proof if they have any," Estrada said.
Valte said the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is supporting the peace
initiatives with the ABB.
"The AFP, through Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Bautista, commander of the AFP's 3rd
Infantry Division, has expressed its support for the peace process with the
RPMP-RPA-ABB, as it impacts on security concerns on the ground," she said.
The Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (OPAPP) led by
Secretary Teresita Deles, however, denied insinuations that the P31 million was
payoff to the ABB, or that OPAPP gave the ABB such amount.
"There is no truth to that report. OPAPP never gave P31 million to the ABB,"
Undersecretary Luisito Montalbo said.
Montalbo pointed out that it was a fund from Payapa at Masaganang Pamayanan (PAMANA),
a government program and framework for peace and development in
conflict-affected areas.
"The use of ABB alone to refer to the group that signed the peace agreement
with the government in 2000, as reported by a media network yesterday afternoon,
is likewise misleading. We are dealing with the RPMP-RPA-ABB, the three groups
who banded together to break away from the NPA (New People's Army), and chose to
return to the fold of the law and join mainstream society," Montalbo explained.
Montalbo said the information on the P31-million fund quoted in news reports
is from the PAMANA website.
"OPAPP is very transparent in its disbursement of funds," Montalbo stressed.
"The PAMANA website clearly states that the P31 million is for community
development and livelihood projects for three peace and development community
sites in Negros Island where there are members of the RPMP-RPA-ABB," he said.
Montalbo said the government has been conducting socio-economic profiling of
members of the RPMP-RPA-ABB to determine appropriate livelihood and other
development interventions for their communities.
"It is part of PAMANA's funds for 2011 amounting to P568 million, and were
provided for conflict-affected communities who find it more difficult compared
to other communities to jumpstart their development," he added.
"The funds are granted for implementation of peace and development projects
to LGUs or regional implementing agencies such as DSWD for implementation. Other
beneficiary communities from Luzon, Mindanao and other parts of Visayas can also
be found in the same website where the information on the P31-million fund for
Negros Island was seen," Montalbo said.
Montalbo cited that the series of profiling held last month in Negros and
Panay Islands for the former combatants belonging to the Tabara-Paduano Group (TPG)
of the RPMP-RPA-ABB is almost finished.
"A total of 495 TPG members were profiled on Oct. 20-30. Negros Occidental
accounted for 358 members, while Negros Oriental and Panay Island (Iloilo,
Antique and Aklan) have 50 and 87 members profiled," Montalbo said.
Montalbo stressed that the profiling will guide the government in creating
peace and development communities that will serve as resettlement sites for TPG
members.
"This is fully supported by the local chief executives, civil society
organizations and the local AFP and Philippine National Police (PNP) commands,"
Montalbo said. – With Jose Rodel Clapano
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2011 by
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All rights reserved
PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
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