Constitutionalist Bernas calms fears on Bangsamoro MoA
By Christian V. Esguerra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 17:33:00 08/04/2008
Filed Under: Mindanao peace process, Laws
MANILA, Philippines -- A leading constitutionalist on Monday allayed fears that a controversial memorandum of agreement (MoA) on ancestral domain between the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) would lead to a separate Bangsamoro state in Mindanao.
“It’s just a piece of paper. There’s nothing to worry about,” Fr. Joaquin Bernas S.J., dean emeritus of the Ateneo Law School, told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net) Monday.
Bernas said the MoA “doesn’t mean anything” until Congress acts on it and a plebiscite is held in the more than 700 villages envisioned for inclusion in the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE).
“Any change in the ARMM [Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao] or [its] territory has to go through Congress and a plebiscite,” he explained.
But Bernas acknowledged that the MoA, an important preliminary agreement that could lead to a peace agreement with the MILF, would be a “psychological boost” to the secessionist group and a “bomb to those who oppose it.”
“But legally, there is nothing to it,” he said. “There is nothing to implement. [The negotiating parties] cannot move without Congress.”
Bernas said he had a copy of the MoA, but was yet to scrutinize its contents. Several lawmakers and other local officials in Mindanao had earlier complained about the purported lack of transparency in the agreement.
Zamboanga City Representative Maria Isabel Climaco said she had repeatedly asked the House of Representatives for an official copy of the MoA but was unsuccessful.
Roy Señeres, former Philippine ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, said consenting to grant autonomy to Muslims showed a “lack of foresight” on the part of government negotiators.
“What will prevent the Bangsamoro [people] from turning their back on the Philippines in the future and become a member of the federal states of Malaysia?” he asked in a text message.
“I have always objected to Malaysia as mediator because it is not absolutely neutral. Obviously, [its officials] have foresight and an ulterior motive.”
Señeres also accused President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, through her peace adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr., of “starting a conflagration in Mindanao between Christians and Muslims” by allowing the virtual establishment of a separate Bangsamoro homeland.
He said the conflict could spread to Luzon and the Visayas because Christians would not take the matter “sitting down.” He said the possibility could give Arroyo a reason to “declare martial law and perpetuate herself in office.”
“So diabolic, but so obvious a plan,” he said.
Another Arroyo critic, Bayan Muna Representative Satur Ocampo, said his group would oppose any move to use a peace accord with the MILF “to pave the way for Charter change that will perpetuate Ms Arroyo’s continued stay in power beyond 2010 and remove the remaining nationalist and protectionist provisions of the Constitution.”
“Bayan Muna has no illusions on the sincerity and determination of the Arroyo administration to fulfill the aspiration of the Moro people for self determination,” he said.
“The [government panel’s] continuing insistence on interpreting and implementing any agreement within the framework of the Philippine Constitution alone immediately undermines the peace process and the right of the Moro people to self-determination.”
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