(UPDATE) OIC asks to postpone ARMM polls
But Senate remains unconvinced
By Veronica Uy
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 15:05:00 08/04/2008
Filed Under: RP peace process, Politics, Elections, Mindanao peace process
MANILA, Philippines -- The Organization of Islamic Conference has asked for the postponement of the August 11 elections at the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary for Special Concerns Rafael Seguis told the Senate Monday.
But despite the OIC request, the Senate will not move to postpone the regional elections, Senator Richard Gordon, chairman of the committee on constitutional amendments and electoral reforms at the ARMM, said.
Gordon said the goodwill that the poll postponement is expected to generate among the stakeholders in Mindanao simply cannot overcome the time constraints against for the enactment of a new law.
Neither has Gordon’s Saturday meeting with leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) nor the briefing given by the government panel to peace talks with the rebels convinced the Senate to postpone the ARMM elections.
"The secretary general of the OIC intimated to me this endorsement for the postponement of the elections during the foreign ministers meeting of the OIC in Kampala, Uganda on June 18-20. He said it would create the space for the peace process," Seguis told the Senate.
Seguis noted that, since 11 of the 13 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are OIC members, establishing "goodwill" with them may have strategic importance to the country.
"It will show the commitment of the GRP [government of the Republic of the Philippines] to the peace process. And it is part of actively engaging the OIC," he said.
The Philippines has a pending application for observer status at the OIC.
Aside from OIC, the international community has been very keen on getting a peace agreement signed. The continuing armed conflict in Mindanao has kept foreign companies from investing in the island.
Presidential peace adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. argued that a postponement of the ARMM elections will assure the other parties (MILF, OIC) involved in the peace process of government's sincerity and resolve to reach a political settlement of the Mindanao problem.
He also said it would allow for the synchronization of the ARMM polls with the 2010 presidential and senatorial elections.
Nevertheless, Esperon said holding the regional polls would be "just a temporary setback. If the elections are not postponed, we have to live with that."
Press Secretary Jesus Dureza, Esperon’s predecessor, said the Constitution may be amended to actualize the final peace agreement, which resume once the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain is signed.
But the Supreme Court on Monday issued a temporary restraining order against the agreement’s signing.
Esperon said the peace panel will return to Congress for the enabling laws that will allow for the implementation of the provisions in the MoA, including the plebiscite in the 735 villages envisioned for inclusion in the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity, 12 months after the agreement is signed.
|
