MANILA, Philippines -- Most lawmakers lauded the decision by the government to dissolve its peace panel negotiating with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front although some have viewed the act as a “face-saving” measure for the administration.

Senators from the administration and opposition welcomed the move.

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago said, “There is no sense of talking about peace when the other party has already declared that it is not ready to pursue the talks of that nature.”

“I’ve always advocated that under the present situation they should already dissolve the panel and if there is a need to recreate a panel afterwards, then they must select a new panel to handle the problem,” said Senator Juan Ponce Enrile.

Senator Richard Gordon urged President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to reconstitute with dispatch a new panel that would continue the peace talks with the MILF.

The new panel, Gordon said, should consist of legal technicians, who are well-versed in the Constitution so that any agreements entered into by the government would conform to the Constitution.

“It’s better to talk peace and minimize collateral damage. We cannot go on an all-out-war. We will talk to those who want to talk but we will run after lawless elements,” he said in a statement.

“And in our negotiations, we must ensure that the peace agreement is acceptable to all, otherwise, it will just widen the conflict,” he further said.

Santiago, Enrile and Gordon belong to the administration bloc in the Senate.

Opposition Senators Panfilo Lacson and Rodolfo Biazon also supported the dissolution of the government panel, saying that it has become “irrelevant.”

“At this point in time, irrelevant ang trabaho ng peace panel [the work of the peace panel is irrelevant]. Wala namang pag-uusapang peace dahil panay ang atrocities ng MILF [There is nothing to talk about because of the atrocities committed by the MILF],” Lacson said.

But Biazon said Malacañang should explain to the people the significance of this new development whether this would mean the junking of the peace process altogether or the first step towards a renewal of the process.

“If it’s intended for a renewal of the process, then Malacañang would have to announce a reconstituted panel,” he said.

Majority Floor Leader Francis Pangilinan, Francis “Chiz” Escudero, and Minority Floor Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. issued statements earlier on Wednesday, praising the “good move” by the government but went further by demanding for the resignation of those responsible in this “unforgivable national embarrassment.”

Pangilinan said the abolition of the panel was necessary since its members have lost all credibility and trustworthiness to continue as negotiators.

“They are damaged goods and this is simply damage control,” Pangilinan said in a statement.

“Government incompetence killed the peace negotiations and so these people have to go and go quickly,” he said.

Apart from the panel itself, Pangilinan said those who had a direct hand -- from the national security adviser (Norberto Gonzales) to the President’s adviser on peace process (Hermogenes Esperon) -- in this “unforgivable national embarrassment” must also go.

“They should take the cue from the Japanese and resign or commit hara-kiri,” Pangilinan said.

Escudero echoed Pangilinan’s call.

“We hope that with the abolition of the peace panel will be the removal of Esperon and all those responsible for the government’s entry into a memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain,” Esudero told reporters in Filipino.

“And we hope the government would heed my call for localized peace talks not only within certain municipalities and cities but also between the government and the different Mindanao tribes that comprise majority of those who live there,” said Escudero.

But for Pimentel, the President should also leave her post, along with her minions.

“Good move,” said Pimentel of the GRP’s termination.
“They are frantically looking for a way to avoid a court rebuff that would add to their problems.”

“I suggest a better move -- Gloria get out of Malacañang. It’s not only her slip that’s showing but also her incompetent butt that’s sitting on the presidential chair,” he added.

It was only Senator Mar Roxas, an opposition member, who has so far voiced his objection to the dissolution of the panel, calling it as another “irrational, knee-jerk and desperate move” of the executive.

“Before, they tried to keep the MOA a secret. Now that it has become controversial, their strategy was to blame each other. Now the Palace is washing its hands off the issue, claiming not to know anything that it was the peace panel that erred so that it would be better to just dissolve it,” he said.

Roxas then pushed for a full-blown inquiry by the Senate into this “18-degree turnaround by the government.”

“I demand that all official records of the peace talks reposed in the executive branch, including diplomatic notes and communiqués, be preserved and presented by the executive branch for public scrutiny,” he said.

At the House of Representatives, Speaker Prospero Nograles said the peace panel “created more problems than solutions” and that the President was “correct” in dissolving it.

Quezon City Representative Matias Defensor Jr. said there was no more reason in talking with the MILF after the attacks of its renegade forces in Mindanao.

"Peace talks with the MILF are already irrelevant. Mukhang hindi naman nila kayang panghawakan ang [It looks like they cannot handle the] peace negotiation," he said.

Zamboanga City Representative Maria Isabelle Climaco said the dissolution of the panel would give the government a chance to refocus its efforts on the real beneficiaries of the peace process, especially the affected communities. She urged the President to appoint as head of the panel a leader of a non-government organization, who has the grasp of the sentiments of all Mindanao folk.

But partylist congressmen expressed belief the talks should continue with the MILF.

Anak Mindanao Representative Mujiv Hataman said he hoped that the President would reconsider her decision and pave the way for the government and the MILF to return to the negotiating table, saying that without the talks, the people of Mindanao would be disadvantaged.

"Let us not be pressured by any political groups or individual with vested interest. People of Mindanao must be united in pursuing and achieving peace in Mindanao. In the end it is the people of Mindanao who are at the losing end," he said.

Bayan Muna partylist Representative Teodoro Casiño criticized the government for the collapse of the talks and for dissolving the panel, calling it a "face-saving gesture to deflect blame for the botched Memorandum of Agreement on ancestral domain for President Arroyo and her top officials."

Casiño also said the decision indicated that the "hawks" in the Arroyo administration have once again prevailed in the decision-making.

Without the peace talks, he said this could signal more violence in the region and more civilian casualties of war.