|
THE
Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) has asked the
Supreme Court to dismiss the petitions filed before it
seeking to enjoin the government peace panel from
signing the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain
(MOA-AD) with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
In a
six-page motion and manifestation, Solicitor General
Agnes Devanadera said the MOA-AD should undergo a
thorough review due to the renewed Muslim atrocities in
some areas in Mindanao.
Devanadera disclosed that the Executive department will
conduct further negotiations with the MILF to address
the issues raised against the MOA-AD.
“Circumstances have changed from the time of the
intended signing of the MOA in Malaysia. Following the
filing of various petitions questioning the
constitutionality of the MOA, fighting in some areas in
Muslim Mindanao had resurfaced led by some disgruntled
groups of the MILF,” the Solicitor General said.
It noted
that the recent occupation by the “lost command” of MILF
of some towns in Lanao del Norte resulted in the death
of some 40 unarmed civilians.
It added
that the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO)
by the Court, coupled with the present condition in some
areas in Mindanao, warrant the review of the MOA.
The OSG
also insisted that the MOA-AD is not a done deal but
merely “a codification of consensus points reached
between the [government] and MILF peace panels and the
aspirations of MILF to have a Bangsamoro homeland.”
“The
respondents are clear in their position that the
actualization or realization of the aspiration of MILF
to have a Bangsamoro homeland of their own shall be
achieved only by complying with the existing legal
processes, such as the enactment of appropriate
legislation, amendment of the Constitution itself, as
well as the holding of a plebiscite,” Devanadera added.
SC
spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said the OSG’s motion was
discussed at Tuesday’s en banc session, and the justices
agreed to order the respondents to reply with the motion
until Thursday.
Meanwhile, Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, president of
United Opposition (UNO); Aquilino Pimentel III,
secretary-general of PDP-Laban; and former senator
Ernesto Maceda have filed a petition before the SC
seeking to permanently enjoin respondents, the
government and MILF peace panels, from signing the
MOA-AD or any agreement with terms similar to it.
The
petitioners asked the SC to nullify the MOA for being
unconstitutional.
They
argued that in recognizing the Bangsamoro homeland as
the “territorial space” for the Bangsamoro Juridical
Entity (BJE), the political units directly affected by
such change are all the political or local government
units in the country and not only the Autonomous Region
in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
Thus,
they said, the petitioners should have been consulted
before the MOA-AD was finalized.
The
petitioners noted that the proceedings of the government
and the MILF negotiations have been held in total
secrecy, thus violating the people’s right to
information on matters of public concern.
“By
recognizing the [BJE], without any constitutional or
statutory grant of power to do so, and worse,
delineating its territory, including ‘Internal and
Territorial Waters,’ the respondent [government] peace
panel grossly violated our Constitution,” they added.
The
government peace panel, the petitioners said, should be
reminded to keep the people informed about its
proceedings, to limit its commitments and promises to
matters within the jurisdiction and competence of the
executive department and to only make promises which are
feasible, reasonable and achievable.
“Raising
the hopes of the other contracting party to magnificent
heights only to disappoint and let them down is not the
way to achieve the permanent peace that we all want to
see reign in Mindanao and the rest of our country,” the
petitioners said.
Earlier,
officials of the province of North Cotabato, Zamboanga
City and Iligan City filed petitions seeking to stop the
signing of the MOA-AD. |
