MANILA, Philippines -- The bigger question about the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD) between the government and Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is why US Ambassador Kristie Kenney was at the aborted signing of the pact in Kuala Lumpur, Senator Joker Arroyo said Wednesday.

"Nobody has asked the question of why Ambassador Kenny was there? What is the interest of the Americans there? The United States does not participate in any affair without thinking it over. It was not a simple ribbon cutting [for the opening] of a flower shop," Arroyo pointed out.

He said the uproar over the MOA-AD is centered on the government’s call for Constitutional amendments to make way for the creation of the federal Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE), when Charter change is "doomed from the start" because it "won't fly. The public will not go for it.”

In contrast, he said, "nobody is asking about the international consequences. The big guns were there -- the OIC [Organization of Islamic Conference], the US, Japan…That's a question that should be asked. That's what I want to know."

A number of those who were at the aborted signing of the MOA-AD on August 5 said that, aside from Kenney, Ambassadors to the Philippines Makoto Katsura of Japan and Rod Smith of Australia were also in Kuala Lumpur.

A day before, the Supreme Court had issued a temporary restraining order against the signing of the MOA-AD on petitions filed by officials of North Cotabato and Zamboanga City.

But Rebecca Thompson, spokeswoman of the US embassy in Manila, said the Kenney and the other diplomats were invited to the signing ceremony.

"[The] US is not a party to negotiations [for the MOA-AD], it's between [the Philippine government] and MILF with Malaysia's help…but [the] US is [a] committed partner for peace, development, and prosperity in Mindanao," she said in text messages.

A leftist observer said the creation of the BJE would serve American interests because the US can raise its creation as a successful example of engagement with Islamic militants in contrast to its perceived blunder in Iraq.

Another raised the possibility that the US might enter into a basing agreement with leaders of the new federal state since the Philippine Constitution bars any foreign military bases and facilities in the country.

Arroyo appeared to support this view, asking about "the contribution of the United States just in case that [MOA-AD] happened…The US presence [in the botched signing ceremony] did not raise a howl. Why? You must remember, [the] VFA [Visiting Forces Agreement] is only for a limited period."

The VFA is an agreement that allows, among others, joint military exercises between the Philippines and US, after the Senate voted to kick American bases out of the country in 1991.