MANILA, Philippines—No deal, yet.

Even so, the government panel returned Wednesday from an aborted signing in Malaysia of a pact for an expanded Bangsamoro homeland, expressing confidence that in spite of the setback the peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) remained on track.

Presidential Peace Adviser Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said that his panel was able to convey “by some means” to the MILF that, contrary to the MILF position, the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD) was not a “done deal” and that the MILF “understood” the government stance.

Ghadzali Jaafar, MILF vice chair for political affairs, said on Tuesday that the MOA became a binding document after the two parties initialed the document last month even though Tuesday’s formal signing was scuttled.

Rodolfo Garcia, chair of the government panel, said that his “top priority” and “main focus” now was to defend the MOA in the Supreme Court, which scheduled oral arguments on Aug. 15.

The high court on Monday issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) stopping Tuesday’s ceremony in Malaysia following protests by local Mindanao executives.

The local officials said they were not consulted when areas under their jurisdiction were included in the expanded Moro domain with broad political and economic powers.

Critics said the creation of the expanded Bangsamoro homeland was tantamount to establishing a separate state.

Not giving up

Esperon described the Malaysia trip as “fruitful.”

“We say it’s fruitful because despite the TRO there was a lot of business conducted and so here we are never giving up on the peace process itself,” Esperon told reporters at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

Esperon and Garcia said that their group was able to convey to the Malaysian government, which is brokering the peace process, why the executive branch has to abide by the judiciary in this case. The same explanations were given to ambassadors and other dignitaries, they said.

Garcia also said that the government panel was able to convey to the MILF the Philippine position that the MOA was far from a final document and that “this was understood by them.”

“Of course, they would have their position,” he added.

Esperon reiterated that the July 27 initialing of the MOA draft was merely an “act of preserving the document” and the “authenticity of the contents preliminary to its signing.”

“It is signifying that we agree to the draft, all the words there are what we agreed upon, the annexes are what we agreed upon,” Esperon said.

Meeting of minds

“We do not deny that there was a meeting of minds in all the contents of the initialed document, what would consummate the agreement would be the affixing of the signatures during the ceremony,” Garcia said.

Esperon added: “The TRO itself tells you that we have not signed it.”

“Some of the statements may have been said out of context ... but I don’t think this will sour relations,” Garcia said, noting how the two sides “have traveled a long road together” in attempts to end the separatist insurgency that has left more than 120,000 people dead in nearly 40 years and 2 million uprooted.

“They understand and should understand that the TRO must be respected, that the judiciary is a separate and co-equal branch of government whose decisions must be respected,” Garcia said.

On Tuesday, the MILF refused to see Esperon and Garcia, saying that any request for new discussion should be coursed through the Malaysian facilitator, but on Wednesday, the panel said it was able to send its messages to the MILF.

Press Secretary Jesus Dureza and Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita in interviews with reporters in Manila Wednesday echoed the position of both Esperon and Garcia.

Sharing means recognition

Dureza also explained that while the MOA sought to grant the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) the powers to exploit all natural resources in its area, the deal called for a 75-25 percent sharing of the proceeds, with the government getting the lesser share. He called the sharing “reasonable.”

“Contrary to the fears of many, sharing (natural resources) with the government is their (Moro rebels’) recognition of the national government,” Dureza said.

He denied that the BJE would become an independent Islamic state with the right to raise a security force ostensibly led by the 12,000 MILF fighters.

Protests

“We’re pushing for a breakthrough here. These noises will calm down when they see the bigger picture. We will see there is no cause to be threatened. It’s not only for MILF, it’s for whole communities in Mindanao. We just have to reassure those openly protesting,” Dureza said.

Protests against the MOA-AD erupted in the cities of Iligan, Zamboanga and Kidapawan on Monday and Tuesday.

Ermita told dzRH that the accord could not yet be implemented until a comprehensive compact agreement was signed and an enabling law passed by Congress.

Domain only one issue

Ermita explained that the MOA-AD was just one of the major issues, which also included security and economic agreements.

“Even if the comprehensive compact agreement is signed, there is still a need to talk,” he said, citing the agreement between the government and the Moro National Liberation Front signed in 1996 which required congressional concurrence before it was implemented.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who has remained silent on the peace initiative, was to be briefed Wednesday night by Esperon and Garcia on their trip to Malaysia.

Congress inquiry

In Congress, Muntinlupa Rep. Rufino Biazon Wednesday filed a resolution calling for an inquiry into the MOA-AD.

“If the executive branch will do some explaining, (it) should do it before the entire Congress,” Biazon said.

Majority Leader Arthur Defensor, a key administration ally, said the MOA-AD raised “very serious constitutional questions and constraints.”

“I think we should have been extended the courtesy of having been consulted,” he told reporters in a press conference. “If an agreement needs sanction, approval, or ratification of Congress, there is a need for us to consult the public at the very least.”
MOA copies released, finally

Official copies of the MOA-AD were finally distributed to congressmen, according to Palawan Rep. Abraham Mitra, a vocal critic of the document. This followed a closed-door meeting on Monday between congressmen and Malacañang emissaries led by Ermita.

Mitra welcomed Biazon’s resolution, saying a House inquiry would allow lawmakers—especially those whose jurisdiction would be affected by the ARMM expansion—to scrutinize the deal.

He said two towns in his province were included in the expanded ARMM without the benefit of public consultation. Neither were the areas Muslim-dominated, a requirement in the MOA, even if their mayors were followers of Islam, he said.

‘Still a long way to go’

“Definitely, I will scrutinize the MOA,” he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer (parent company of INQUIRER.net). “It’s not a done deal. It still has a long way to go. It will face a very rough road.”

Mitra said he would file a petition in the Supreme Court questioning the inclusion of two Palawan municipalities in the ARMM expansion and the lack of transparency in the crafting of the MOA-AD.