HOPES OF PEACE IN MINDANAO: NOY CREATING MORO TRANSITION
BODY
[PHOT0 -Muslim women stage the 'Hijab Run for Peace: Religious
Understanding Now' at the People Power monument yesterday. Inset shows Malaysian
Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak arriving at Villamor Air Base
yesterday. MANNY
MARCELO]
MANILA, OCTOBER 15, 2012 (PHILSTAR) By Delon Porcalla -
President Aquino will soon issue an executive order appointing the 15 members of
a Transition Commission after the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation
Front (MILF) sign today at Malacañang the framework agreement outlining the
roadmap for peace.
The 15-member commission, composed of eight representatives from the Muslim
side and seven from the government, will draft a bill that will be sent to
Congress to establish a Bangsamoro region in Mindanao.
Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles said Muslims could
lobby with lawmakers and coordinate with them in crafting the bill.
Congress will also deliberate on the Bangsamoro Basic Law, which will govern
the residents in the proposed region, but which will be bound by the 1987
Constitution and remain under the national government.
Chief government negotiator Marvic Leonen said the commission would conduct
consultations in the affected areas to know the pulse of the people on the
proposed Bangsamoro.
Leonen said that the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) will
continue to exist until Congress makes a new law.
The Bangsamoro region is expected to be in place before President Aquino's
term ends in June 2016.
Officials of the Bangsamoro region would be elected in the May 2016
synchronized elections.
The Basic Law of the Bangsamoro will have to be signed into law before Aquino
steps down in 2016. Deles said the President would certify as urgent the bill
that will establish the Bangsamoro.
Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said the signing of the
framework accord will start at 1:30 p.m. after President Aquino and Malaysian
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak hold bilateral talks in Malacañang,
shortly after arrival honors for the foreign leader.
Expanded bilateral talks will also be held with members of Aquino's Cabinet.
A press conference will then follow.
Leaders of civil society organizations involved in the peace process, foreign
leaders, particularly from third-party facilitator Malaysia, members of the
International Contact Group, the International Monitoring Team will be arriving
for the event.
Deles said the peace pact signing would not have any theatrics that may
dilute its significance.
Leonen will sign for the government side while MILF spokesman Mohagher Iqbal
would sign on behalf of the rebels.
[PHOTO By ROMEO RANOCO/REUTERS 9
hrs ago. Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak (centre L) reviews a honour guard
upon arrival at Villamor airbase in Pasay city, metro Manila October 14,
2012.]
The signing is to be witnessed by Aquino, Razak and MILF chairman Al Hadj
Murad.
The framework agreement, which was made public last week, aims to end almost
four decades of conflict in Mindanao, and which includes other Muslim groups
that have been consulted, among them the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
The agreement lays down the groundwork for achieving the "final and enduring
peace in Mindanao" by enjoining all stakeholders to support the implementation
of the needed "structural reforms."
Under the accord, a new political entity will replace the ARMM and be named
Bangsamoro, where several municipalities in Mindanao would be added, but will
have to be approved by the Muslims in a plebiscite.
Valte said in her weekend radio interview over state-run dzRB that the new
pact will work this time around.
"We're very hopeful for this particular agreement. We're very hopeful and
both sides are committed to giving peace a chance to give hope a chance to
flourish," Valte said.
Valte gave assurance that the proposed Bangsamoro would not be a mere
makeover or a name replacement for ARMM, which remains in poverty and where
private armed groups had prevailed.
[PHOTO -Hopes of peace in Mindanao: Midway through his
six-year term, President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III can now claim the forging
of the Framework Agreement as a landmark achievement of his administration. For
the historic occasion, President Aquino has invited Prime Minister Najib
...Mindanao peace caravan rolls on to capital. Gulf AFP
Philippine Star Gulf News]
Elusive peace
Senator Loren Legarda expressed hope that the agreement will be an
opportunity to achieve the long-elusive peace in Mindanao and called on all
Filipinos to support this reform process.
"Let us give peace a chance. Let us explore all possibilities within the
bounds of our national sovereignty to achieve the long-elusive peace in
Mindanao," she said.
Legarda, who chairs the committees on foreign relations and cultural
communities, also stressed that change will not come overnight.
"Ink on parchment cannot solve the problem. It will be a long and arduous
process. Any peace agreement will not be successful without an economic
package," she said. "And it's not enough that resources are made available.
Resources must be translated into jobs, livelihoods, food, education,
healthcare, and welfare for the Bangsamoro people."
She noted that massive development challenges and socio-economic costs of
conflict in Mindanao remain to be addressed.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile believes that the framework agreement does
not violate any provision of the Constitution but there are some provisions that
would have to be clarified when the matter is brought up to Congress for
perusal.
Enrile said that he has gone over the agreement and saw nothing that was
unconstitutional.
He said that the pact should not pose any problems right now since its
signing would only be a first step before congressional involvement.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson said that he has a number of concerns about the
agreement, particularly on the security aspects.
Lacson said that he would seek a clarification about the role of the
Philippine National Police (PNP) in the Bangsamoro region.
As far as the Armed Forces are concerned, Lacson said that there should be no
confusion because they would continue to be present in the entire country,
including the proposed Bangsamoro region as provided by the Constitution.
Giant step
Meanwhile, leaders of the House of Representatives hailed the Bangsamoro
framework agreement as "a giant step towards lasting peace" in Mindanao.
The lawmakers also urged the public to support the pact, and for authorities
to thwart attempts to derail efforts to forge peace in Mindanao.
Maguindanao Rep. Simeon Datumanong said the preliminary agreement "has been
long awaited for the return of peace in Mindanao especially in the
conflict-affected areas where more than 130,000 lives were lost and continue to
suffer dislocation now and then and of course to encourage economic
development."
Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone described the signing today as "a giant step
towards the attainment of lasting peace in Mindanao."
"All sectors should give that agreement a chance to take root first to ensure
its success. Congress should be more than willing to enact all the necessary
measures that will support it," Evardone said.
Basilan Rep. Jim Hataman-Salliman said every Filipino should be happy with
the signing of the framework agreement.
Ang Kasangga party-list Rep. Teodorico Haresco said the preliminary agreement
between the government and the MILF is a historic breakthrough under the
resolute "Daang Matuwid" vision of President Aquino.
He cited the efforts of Deles, Leonen, and Presidential Adviser for Political
Affairs Ronald Llamas for steering the agreement to fruition and public
approval.
"I have very high hopes and expectations for Muslim Mindanao led by the
sincerity of different stakeholders and the MILF leaders," Haresco said.
"After the signing of the agreement by both the government peace panel and
the MILF, let's hope that both parties are sincere on the implementation of the
stipulations of the agreement in order to achieve peace in Mindanao," Lanao del
Sur Rep. Mohammed Hussein Pangandaman said.
Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo said the agreement "should be given a chance
to work."
Aurora Rep. Juan Edgardo Angara said the signing is a historic and
long-awaited event.
"There will be those who will downplay its importance and who may even try to
derail the agreement. What cannot be denied is that it's a huge step towards
achieving lasting peace in Mindanao, which could lead to the full development of
the region," Angara said.
Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez and his older brother, Abante Mindanao
party-list Rep. Maximo Rodriguez in a joint statement said they fully support
the pact, "which will put an end to fighting in Mindanao and ultimately attain
that elusive peace in Mindanao for centuries now." With
Paolo Romero, Marvin Sy
PHILSTAR'S THE FREEMAN
COMMENTARY
Will peace really reign in Mindanao? SHOOTING
STRAIGHT By Valeriano Avila (photo above) (The Freeman) Updated October
09, 2012 12:00 AMComments (1)
Abangan!
The big breaking news for the week is the announcement by Pres.
Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino, III (photo) of the peace deal the government has
supposedly hatched with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The problem
here is that, when it comes to peace in Mindanao, we have become sort of jaded
simply because there were similar attempts in getting a peace pact with the
Muslim separatist group like the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), which
did not really result in a peace deal, but in the end, it splintered the Moro
groups and one of them is the MILF. What about the Abu Sayyaf, huh?
So the big question about the Aquino Peace Deal is, whether the MNLF is on
board in this peace process because if they are not on board and the MNLF did
not buy in on this peace deal, then who are we to say that there will be peace
in Mindanao? Then what about the Communist Party of the Philippines who has New
People's Army (NPA) regulars in various parts of Mindanao? Are they included in
this deal? We are for peace but for as long as armed groups roam freely in
Mindanao, I will remain a skeptic!
* * *
The Anti-Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 has become the bone of contention
between politicians and netizens all over the country… and I'm sure this
includes Filipino netizens working abroad as Overseas Contract Workers (OFWs)
who are considered our new "heroes". It took some time for Pres. Benigno
"Noynoy" Aquino, III to finally come out in the open supporting the very law
that he signed last Sept.12, 2012. After the President defended this law, almost
every elective government official from Senate Pres. Juan Ponce Enrile and down
to the governors and mayors have come out supporting this controversial law.
It is very understandable that persons with authority, especially those who
are elected or appointed into a government office may believe in the Freedom of
Speech but with responsibility and therefore, they support the Anti-Cybercrime
Prevention law as it criminalizes libel which many of them consider as the
proper safeguard to prevent anyone from besmirching their reputations. But do
these people in government understand the meaning of the importance of free
speech?
First of all, the Philippines is a signatory of the United Nations Convention
on Human Rights and Article 19 of the agreement states, "Everyone has the right
to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold
opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and
ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers." The Anti-Cybercrime
Prevention Act of 2012 contravenes this particular article of the UN Human
Rights charter.
Here is the rub. When it comes to the implementation of the United Nations
Population Control Program (UNPCP) we must follow it to the letter, even to the
point of copying in toto their laws which is now included in the
highly-controversial Reproductive Health (RH) Bill. This is why those netizens
who accused Sen. Tito Sotto of plagiarism when he made his privilege speech
against the RH bill, did not saying anything when we turned the tables against
them and told them that the RH Bill is also a plagiarized bill, copied from
similar bills from the UN or the United States.
One thing that makes the Anti-Cybercrime Law offensive is its vagueness,
which is open to various interpretations. Those of you who have not experienced
being sued for libel do not understand that one of the principal reasons why
people file libel cases against the media is because they can use to the hilt,
the reality of the judiciary's snail-paced system.
Thanks to that other law on "subjudice" wherein the media is prohibited to
write, or speak on TV or radio about the person who filed a libel case against
that particular journalist and the longer that our court takes to decide on the
case, the better for them. In short, they used our courts of law to stifle our
precious freedom of speech.
While I agree that our precious freedoms must carry with it some
responsibilities, libel must be decriminalized. Alas, the Anti-Cybercrime
Prevention Law elevates libel to include anyone expressing his or her opinion in
the social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter. Now the big question is
will the Supreme Court declare the Anti-Cybercrime law as unconstitutional as
pointed out by Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago?
If you ask me, the SC already failed in this first test case on Judicial
independence when it failed to give the petitioners against the Cybercrime law a
Temporary Restraining Order (TRO). That no less than PNoy is supporting this law
is a signal from the President to the SC to junk the petitions. We would
certainly know in the next few weeks whether the SC is not considered fully
independent from the Executive Branch.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
All
rights reserved
PHILIPPINE
HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE [PHNO] WEBSITE
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/phnotweet
This is the PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE (PHNO) Mailing List.
To stop receiving our news items, please send a blank e-mail addressed to: phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
Please visit our homepage at: http://www.newsflash.org/
(c) Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
-------------------------------------------------------------Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/phno/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
phno-digest@yahoogroups.com
phno-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
phno-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
PH Headline News Online. Copyright 2011 All Rights Reserved