DAVAO CITY—An independent ceasefire monitoring group expressed with grave concern the planned complete pullout of the Malaysian-led peacekeeping force in potential powderkeg areas in Mindanao and pleaded with both the government and the Moro guerrillas to resume peace negotiations.

“The pullout of the International Monitoring Team [IMT] led by the government of Malaysia will clearly have dire consequences on the lives of people in the conflict-affected areas,” warned the Bantay Ceasefire, a monitoring movement organized by nongovernment organizations.

Meanwhile, Malacańang on Sunday took exception to allegations that it has imperiled its own peace negotiations with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) by reportedly dragging its feet on the matter.

Chief Peace Adviser Jesus Dureza said in a statement that the government has been doing its best to complete its final draft of the ancestral domain agreement as soon as it can, but noted that such a process requires careful study and deliberation to ensure that it is constitutional.

“The government, while committed to push the peace process forward, is not delaying but doing due diligence in completing the government’s final draft of the ancestral-domain agreement to ensure that it is implementable and defensible from attacks of unconstitutionality,” Dureza said.

He said that while some sectors are understandably impatient over the progress of the peace talks, “the government cannot treat these pending issues in a cavalier manner or with undue haste” and that the government panel, led by Rodolfo Garcia, “has been doing work on the government draft without letup.”

“If there is any sector most interested to resolve these problems, it is the government. Let no one, whether foreign or domestic elements, publicly posture as if they are more interested than us in a peaceful settlement with our rebels. We are doing our level best, of course, with utmost due diligence,” Dureza said.

He said the government appreciates the help of Malaysia in the peace process and “respects and accepts” its latest decision to implement a phased pullout of its contingent in the IMT overseeing the cease-fire agreement between the government and the MILF in Mindanao.

Malaysia is expected to begin its phased pullout from the IMT on May 10.

“We hope that they will continue to support our peace and development efforts,” Dureza said.

Malaysian Deputy Premier Najib Razak had said that Malaysia decided to withdraw some members of its contingent in the IMT in the hope that it would speed up the peace process.

Peace negotiations have been stalled over differences on the ancestral domain issue. The governments wants to resolve the matter within the bounds of the Constitution, the MILF does not.

The Bantay Ceasefire said that “as an independent grassroots ceasefire monitoring mechanism, Bantay Ceasefire saw how the presence of the IMT had dramatically improved the lives of civilians.”

“The track record of the IMT in the last four years will show that it is indeed indispensable to the mechanism for cessation of hostilities and to the peace process,” the Bantay Ceasefire said.

It said that Mindanao suffered two all-out wars waged by government against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, in years 2000 and 2003, before the IMT arrived. These two wars forced “hundreds of thousands of civilians” to abandon their homes and farms to live in cramped and disease-prone tent areas in nearby town centers in the Cotabato provinces.

Before that, the Bantay Ceasefire that there were major fighting in Camps Omar in Lanao del Sur and Raja Muda in Maguindanao, “just to name two.”

“After the IMT arrived, there were no major fighting, let alone all-out war.  Last year, a full-blown war threatened to explode but was averted precisely of the IMT,” it said.

“If we need to kneel down before the principals and members of the IMT, we, all 650 volunteers of the Bantay Ceasefire will gladly do so if only to convince the IMT to stay,” the group said.

In its dispatch late this week, the Davao City-based news agency, MindaNews, quoted the Malaysian national news agency, Bernama, as having reported on Thursday that Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak “announced Malaysia would withdraw ‘in phases’ its peacekeeping troops in Mindanao starting May”.

“A decision has been made on our presence there (Mindanao). We cannot be there forever,” MindaNews quoted Najib as telling reporters at the 11th Defense Services Asia Exhibition and Conference, and as reported by bernama.com.

Najib said that an initial of 21 peacekeepers would return to Malaysia. This number already represents half of Malaysia’s 41-man contingent.

The IMT, whose composition was already the fourth batch, has 57 members. Of the number, Malaysia has 41, Brunei has 10, Libya has five and Japan has one, the only non-soldier in the IMT. Japan’s IMT member is a development expert.

Wire reports have quoted Malaysia as saying that its decision was prompted by the stalled negotiation. An attempt to revive the talks was made in December last year, but the MILF pulled out from the talks after government negotiators presented a separate agenda apart from what both camps had earlier agreed to talk on the consensus points.

“We speak as the sons, the daughters, the parents, the family and friends of the victims of armed conflict in Mindanao. We speak on behalf of those who have the most at stake at its peaceful resolution. We speak as the ones to pick up the pieces should the peace process completely collapse,” the Bantay Ceasefire said.

The group added that records of the Joint Ceasefire Committee “will show that prior to the coming of the IMT, we had over a thousand violations of the ceasefire agreement in 2003 and 2004”.

“In 2005, however, these violations significantly dropped to less than 10 violations and we attribute this outstanding record on the strong presence of the IMT together of course with the hard work and commitment of the Joint Government and MILF Ceasefire Committee,” the group said.

“The presence of the IMT in conflict affected areas not only allowed the people to enjoy relative peace but also provided an environment conducive to peace negotiations. It also allowed aid agencies to operate relatively free and unhampered in the conflict affected areas,” it said.

The Bantay Ceasefire, formed by the peace group, Mindanao People’s Caucus, described the Malaysian decision to withdraw its IMT as “while regrettable, is understandable.”

“Both the international community as well as the people of Mindanao do not deserve an open-ended peace process.  Prior commitments on the negotiating table must be respected.  It shows utter disrespect for the peace process and to those who have been helping move it forward to revisit and backtrack from prior commitments,” it said.

But it hinted that the nonmovement in the peace negotiations may be caused by “powerful groups within and without the government, with vested political and economic interests in Mindanao, who feel that their interests are threatened by the peace process.”

“We are aware that the troubles the peace process has undergone these past years are brought about by their growing influence in the negotiations.  We urge them to look beyond their self-interests for the good of the people of Mindanao and the Philippines,” it said.

The Bantay Ceasefire did not name the groups or individuals who wanted to torpedo the peace negotiations but in previous occasions of news briefings, MILF spokespersons said the “hawks or warmongers” included local government executives and some senior Palace officials.

“It has taken so much hard work on the part of civil society and the international community to build a constituency for peace in Mindanao, to make people believe that a just peace is possible, and to generate confidence in the peace process.

Should the talks completely collapse, it will be well nigh impossible to restore that confidence,” the group said.

The group further said that “the people of Mindanao and the IMT and international community have proven their commitment to a just and peaceful resolution of the Mindanao conflict.  We demand that the national government show the same commitment”.

The Bantay Ceasefire has asked the following to contain a potential trouble to erupt: for government and the MILF to resume the formal peace talks and sign the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain based on the agreed consensus points;

For the Philippine government and the MILF to request the Malaysian government to extend the IMT’s tour of duty and reconsider its decision on the pull out of Malaysian troops; and to persuade Congress to legislate the postponement of the upcoming ARMM elections to allow sufficient time for the GRP-MILF peace talks to conclude the negotiations and complete the ongoing Tripartite Review of the 1996 Peace Agreement.

“We believe that these processes should not be overtaken by the ARMM election,” the group said.

OSG urged: Block NPC-Meralco settlement

THE National Association of Electricity Consumers for Reforms Inc. (Nasecore) has urged the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to oppose the settlement agreement entered into between the National Power Corp. (Napocor) and the Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) on the dispute over their 10-year Contract for the Sale of Electricity (CSE) that expired on December 31, 2004.

PALAYAN CITY, Nueva Ecija—A special agency created two years ago and believed by critics of the Arroyo administration to be snooping on them and harassing them could be behind the murder charges against four progressive party-list leaders.

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT—Senators investigating the controversial apartment complex built by Hanjin Heavy Industries Corp.-Philippines (HHIC-Phil) at Subic’s forested Cubi-Triboa District said on Friday they will seek stiffer penalties for companies violating environmental clearance requirements for development projects.

DAVAO CITY—An independent ceasefire monitoring group expressed with grave concern the planned complete pullout of the Malaysian-led peacekeeping force in potential powderkeg areas in Mindanao and pleaded with both the government and the Moro guerrillas to resume peace negotiations.

DAVAO CITY—Two soldiers and two militiamen were killed Sunday in a gun battle with suspected New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas in Monkayo, Compostela Valley.