Road to war

‘This is a direct road to war, not the path, however winding and tortuous, to peace.’

The Executive department has told the Supreme Court it will not sign the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain as initialed by both sides or in the any other form it may take. Peace negotiations, nonetheless, will continue but within the framework of disarmament, demobilization and rehabilitation or DDR, the new approach announced by Gloria Arroyo a few weeks ago.

What actually is being abandoned with the government declaration that the MOA-AD in whatever form is dead? The MOA-AD officially remains a secret; the Executive has yet to provide the Supreme Court a copy. But based on the information that has dribbled out, there are two key areas addressed: One, the expansion of the territory now covered by the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao, and, two, greater powers to the current the autonomous government through the transformation of ARMM into a Bangsamoro Juridical Entity.

On the proposed expansion, critics of the proposed agreement claimed the areas sought to be covered had already opted in three earlier plebiscites to stay out of ARMM. This claim is patently wrong. Most of the 700 barangays covered by the MOA have repeatedly voted for inclusion. In fact, whole towns in Lanao del Norte also made the same choice, but the wish of the residents was thwarted because the basic units for membership in ARMM were provinces and cities.

Hence the agreement to go down to the barangay level. As far as we can see, there is nothing unconstitutional on this score. It will take just an amendment to the ARMM law.

The Bangsamoro Juridical Entity is the sticky point. There are some clearly unconstitutional provisions such as allowing it to have its own police force in violation of the "one national police of civilian character" provision. Another is allowing the BJE authority to send and receive foreign missions. But on another issue, the one on the sharing of proceeds from the exploitation of natural resources, the critics are wrong. The Supreme Court has already upheld the Indigenous Peoples Act which provides for a similar scheme on sharing (the ratio can be left to the legislature).

So why abandon the MOA in whatever form if the disagreements revolve around the specifics, not the principles of expanded and greater autonomy?

And after abandoning these principles, why the call for disarmament and demobilization as a prerequisite for continuing negotiations? These twin demands amount to a call on the MILF to surrender, with negotiations limited to drawing up the terms of capitulation.