Senators want Esperon axed for botched talks

MANILA, Philippines - Amid snowballing opposition to the government's ancestral domain agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), several senators and the United Opposition (UNO) on Wednesday called for the removal of Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Hermogenes Esperon Jr from office. The call gained momentum as several groups expressed dissatisfaction over his handling of government negotiations with the MILF. Sen. Manuel Roxas II said Esperon violated the law when he refused to consult and disclose to the public the contents of the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain. “This agreement is wrong to begin with, dahilan sa na-partition nga ang ating bansa. Hinihiwalay niya ang isang bahagi ng ating bansa mula doon sa iba. Bibigyan sila ng kapangyarihan over their natural resources, over their citizens, over political and economic elements of the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity, na hiwalay doon sa Republika ng Pilipinas," Roxas said. Roxas made the call after learning from North Cotabato Vice Governor Emmanuel Piñol that Esperon allegedly warned that Mindanaoans cannot expect support from the military if they will not support the controversial memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain with the MILF. Piñol's revelation also prompted the United Opposition to call for Esperon's ouster from office, calling the former military chief's threat to withhold military support to North Cotabato in the event of attacks as "irresponsible and very unprofessional." UNO president and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay said Esperon's remark "betrays a mindset that ignores civilian rule." "A person who threatens to withhold military support to a civilian population out of spite has no business being the country's leading peace advocate," Binay said. Also on Wednesday, Senators Rodolfo Biazon and Francis Escudero joined Sen. Mar Roxas in calling for Esperon's removal from office, saying the government never should have initialed the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain in the first place. "Our peace panel had messed up this thing very badly. It had brought the situation to a critical point... It is now a matter of national security concern. The rapport between the our GRP panel and the MILF panel is already lost indicated by the difference in opinion on what is a done deal. The MILF says it is a done deal, our OPAPP is saying and they are right in saying that this is not yet a done deal," Biazon said. "The credibility of the OPAPP and the present panel is already in question not only by the people, officials and non-governmental organizations of this country, but by the MILF itself. So we need to reconstitute the OPAP and the panel," he added. Biazon said he had opposed Esperon's appointment as Peace Adviser even before the "mishandling" of the MILF talks, saying: "I have raised this issue back in May 19, 2008 to the point that I thought that by appointing Gen. Esperon as head of the OPAPP, the President might have been junking the peace process with the MILF." The senator further said Esperon's removal might not be enough to restore confidence in the government negotiating panel with the MILF. "I think there is a need to reconstitute not only the head but all the members of the Office of the Presidential Adviser for the Peace Process including its legal panel engaging the MILF to peace talks, because if this peace process had been properly thought of, or thought about then maybe it will not be as messed up as it is today," Biazon said. For his part, Escudero described Esperon's decision to affix his initials to the final draft agreement as a "betrayal" to the people. The opposition senator said Esperon committed a second betrayal if North Cotabato Vice Governor Emmanuel Piñol's claims are true. In an interview on radio dzBB earlier in the day, Piñol quoted Esperon as saying the Armed Forces will not risk the lives of soldiers to come to the aid of North Cotabato residents if they are attacked by the MILF. “Hindi ko ma-quote word for word… Medyo na-offend ako sa sinabi niya, kasi pinag-uusapan nga namin yung TRO… Sabi ko sa kanya 'Pare, kung palarin kami baka makakuha kami ng TRO sa Supreme Court anong mangyayari?' Sabi niya, ‘Pare kapag na-TRO kami diyan at inatake kayo ng MILF bahala kayo sa sarili niyo… Hindi namin isasakrapisyo ang buhay ng sundalo namin para sa inyo,’" Piñol said. Esperon denied issuing such a statement, saying the AFP is duty-bound to protect communities from rebel atrocities. - Johanna Camille Sisante, GMANews.TV