MILF deal with gov't to fail if polls in ARMM push through

MANILA, Philippines - The proposed agreement on ancestral domain between the Philippine government and the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) set to be signed on Tuesday will turn out to be a dud if the elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) pushes through on August 11. This was according to MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu who warned that the MILF leadership might not be able to stop its people from causing tension or even trouble in Mindanao if the Philippine government conducts the ARMM polls. In an interview with radio dzBB on Sunday, Kabalu said that even if the MILF and the government sign the homeland deal on August 5, the pact would become useless if the polls would be held in the ARMM. He said the deal “will be sacrificed" with the ARMM polls that would give a three-year fresh mandate to elected officials. “Pag nagkapirmahan, and then you want to implement the agreement…eh hindi po natin maisasagawa sapagkat kung matutuloy ang elections. ‘Yong mga tao diyan ay makakakuha ng fresh mandate na three years, fixed po ‘yan. So hindi po puwede na gagalawin ‘yan. Masasakripisyo ‘yong pagkapirma doon sa agreement, magiging balewala...sapagkat di po mai-implement," said Kabalu. (Even if the deal is signed, we won’t be able to implement it if the elections push through. Those who will be elected will be given a fresh and fixed mandate of three years. We won’t be able to touch that even with the signed agreement. The signing of the deal will be sacrificed and will become useless because we won’t be able to implement it.) Contrary The proposed deal will create a Bangsamoro homeland that will have its own “basic law," and its own internal security force. Adopting a political system being implemented by the Philippine government through the ARMM elections appears to be contrary to the deal that will give power to the MILF to have its own legislative and electoral institutions that will be governed by the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity. The deal will also allow the Bangsamoro to have its own banking and finance, civil service, and education systems, and the full authority to develop and dispose minerals and other natural resources within its turf, which is composed of all the provinces in the ARMM, namely Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Shariff Kabusnsuan, Tawi-Tawi and the Islamic City of Marawi. Kabalu said that with the deal, the ARMM territory would be expanded with the inclusion of several villages that are “contiguous or adjacent" to the region. Some analysts claim that the deal will require changes in the 1987 Philippine Constitution, a move that was repeatedly pushed by the allies of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo but was opposed by her detractors who claimed that Charter change was part of a ploy to make the chief executive stay in power beyond 2010. Tension The MILF spokesperson warned that the ARMM polls might trigger tension and unrest among people in Maguindanao, Sulu, and portions of Basilan, especially among those who had patiently waited for the signing of the supposed landmark deal. “Ito nga ‘yong medyo nangangamba tayo, nagkakaroon tayo ng pangamba, na baka naman di natin mapigilan itong mga kasamahan natin na muling gagawa ng ganon, bagamat sinasabi natin sa kanila na lahat ng ito ay ginagawan ng paraan. Nakikita nga natin, no less than the President na kanyang nirekomenda ang postponement ng eleksyon ," Kabalu said. (This is where we are having worries that we might not be able to stop our people from doing those things, though we tell them that this is being resolved. Even the President is recommending the postponement of the polls.) The MILF is the country's largest Muslim rebel group fighting for self-rule in Mindanao through establishing a homeland for over 4 million Muslims in the region, which is also home to about 17 million Christians and indigenous tribes. Mindanao is a region rich in natural resources, but is in deep poverty and torn by strife and terrorism. Many politicians whose families own vast tracks of lands and businesses in Mindanao are opposing the MILF's demand for a separate state, saying it will displace Christians in areas covered by the proposed ancestral domain. Postpone pact On Sunday, the political opposition asked President Arroyo to defer the signing of the MILF deal in Kuala Lumpur until the Supreme Court resolves the legality of the pact. United Opposition president Jejomar Binay said his group was asking for the postponement to avoid further tension in the region. "Tension is brewing in Mindanao and old wounds are being reopened unnecessarily because of this controversial GRP-MILF ancestral domain accord. To defuse the tension, we are asking Malacañang to defer the signing of the MOA in deference to the Supreme Court," Binay said. Postpone polls Last month, five Mindanao lawmakers filed a bill seeking the postponement of the ARMM elections until 2010. The legislators filed House Bill 4832 that proposes to amend Section 1 of Republic Act 9333 - the law that sets the August 11 ARMM elections - by replacing the date of the ARMM polls to coincide with the May 2010 national elections. Those who authored the House Bill 4832 were representatives Faysah Dumarpa of Lanao del Sur, Simeon Datumanong of Maguindanao, Munir Arbison of Sulu, Mujiv Hataman of party-list Anak Mindanao, and Pangalian Balindong of Lanao del Sur. Dumarpa said the proposed postponement of the ARMM polls until 2010 will remove possible roadblocks in the peace negotiations with the MILF. But the move to postpone the polls may not materialize amid opposition at the Senate. It was earlier reported that Juan Miguel Zubiri, an administration senator from Mindanao, had backed out from supporting the postponement after failing to get the support of his colleagues. Zubiri said that at the Senate, the move to postpone the elections "is dead in the water." He said that with only few session days left it was "logistically impossible" to amend the law setting the date of the ARMM polls. - GMANews.TV