Arroyo peacemakers should be charged with treason--senator
By Maila Ager
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 14:59:00 09/05/2008
Filed Under: Politics, Mindanao peace process, Crime
MANILA, Philippines -- President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s peace negotiators should be charged with treason for allegedly “misleading” the government to sign the aborted memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), an opposition senator said Friday.
Senate President Pro Tempore Jose “Jinggoy” Ejercito-Estrada said Press Secretary Jesus Dureza, retired military chief Hermogenes Esperon, presidential adviser to the peace process; and Rodolfo Garcia, the government’s chief peace negotiator, were apparently aware of the constitutional amendments that had been kept secret from the public.
“It is public knowledge that Dureza was the former peace adviser and Esperon as the current peace adviser, were consulted by Garcia regarding the provisions of the MOA-AD and they did not object to the one-sided provisions that favored the rebels,” Estrada said in a statement.
He said the three did not only mislead the Philippine government but also the Filipino people when they agreed to the MOA, which was “grossly disadvantageous” to the nation.
“Dureza, Esperon, and Garcia could even face treason charges for selling [out] the Filipino people, particularly the citizens in Mindanao,” Estrada said.
Because of strong criticisms and legal issues raised against the MOA, the government halted its peace talks with the MILF and subsequently disbanded the panel that entered into that MOA.
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