ZAMBOANGA CITY Mayor Celso Lobregat (right) speaks before thousands of red-clad protesters against Zamboanga’s inclusion in the proposed Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s (MILF) Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) on Monday. JOEY BAUTISTA/contributor
ZAMBOANGA CITY Mayor Celso Lobregat (right) speaks before thousands of red-clad protesters against Zamboanga’s inclusion in the proposed Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s (MILF) Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) on Monday. JOEY BAUTISTA/contributor
MANILA, Philippines—Thousands of protesters Monday marched in the cities of Zamboanga and Iligan, denouncing as “treachery of the highest order” their inclusion in a proposed Bangsamoro homeland.
The protests came hours before the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) stopping the scheduled signing on Tuesday of a memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on an expanded Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).
The protesters in the two cities wore red clothes, signifying anger at the MOA that would include some parts of their areas in the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE).
Zamboanga Mayor Celso Lobregat led some 10,000 protesters outside City Hall as church bells rang and 600 businesses shut down. An archbishop and a local tribal leader, wearing traditional headdress and loincloth, sat beside Lobregat during the rally.
“Do not build a Berlin Wall among the people of Mindanao,” Lobregat told the crowd, some holding placards saying “Gloria, don’t sell us.”
“We are also for peace. We don’t want the creation of an area based on religion, an area that would segregate us. Christians and Muslims have been living in peace and harmony together in our city,” Lobregat said.
Caught by surprise
Councilor Danilo Neri of Isabela, Basilan, said residents were “caught by surprise” that some of their villages would become part of the proposed BJE.
“Right now we are just receiving information from the media and leaked information from the government,” Neri said.
For Pocholo Soliven, spokesperson of the Zamboanga City Chamber of Commerce, only the Badjaos and the Subanons have the right to claim Zamboanga Peninsula as their ancestral domain.
Soliven said it was not the fault of the MILF, but of the government, which determined the areas to be included in the BJE.
“This is treachery of the highest order,” Soliven said.
‘We are pained’
Subanon Timuoy Noval Lambo said land was “not for the Moros or for Christians or for Subanons.”
“This land is not ours. We live and we die in this land, the land owns us, not us owning any territory and we are pained with the government’s move,” Lambo said.
Also in the Zamboanga City rally were Zamboanga Sibugay Gov. George Hofer, Church leaders and representatives of the sultanate of Sulu.
In Iligan, Mayor Lawrence Cruz told the crowd of about 8,000 that the city would lose at least 82 percent of its total land area if the proposed inclusion in the BJE of eight villages pushed through.
Eight upland barangays (villages)—Digkilaan, Hindang, Rogongon, Panoroganan, Lanipao, Dulag, Mainit and Lanipao—have been included in the proposed BJE, he said.
These barangays are major producers of agricultural products and are also rich in timber and minerals, Cruz said.
Sacrificial lambs
North Cotabato Vice Gov. Emmanuel Piñol said a scheduled protest rally Tuesday in Kidapawan would proceed despite the TRO.
“As a sign of protest, I ask everybody to display the red color to signify our courage in the midst of this crisis. This would also signify our anger at our national officials for making us their sacrificial lambs just to satisfy the demands of the MILF,” Piñol said.
“I am calling on everybody to come. Let us show to our national officials our number and let them hear our voices of protest,” he said.
In Puerto Princesa, board members from southern Palawan announced Monday they would file a resolution in the provincial government protesting the inclusion of Balabac and Bataraza in the proposed MILF territory.
“There was no consultation made with Palawan officials and communities,” said Board Member Cipriano Barroma.
Voluntary dismemberment
Makati Rep. Teodoro Locsin Jr. warned Monday that the signing of the MOA would be a “voluntary dismemberment of the republic.”
Locsin adverted to a legal concept known as parol evidence that says the terms of an agreement should be embodied in the pact and that no evidence outside the accord may be used to settle issues there.
“Because of that rule, constitutional amendments and remedial legislation are not required for the agreement to take effect,” he said.
But Senior Deputy Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales III of Mandaluyong City disagreed.
“As I understand it, there is a clause in the agreement which states that the agreement will take effect only after it becomes legal, meaning after the Constitution is amended. If the Constitution will not be amended the agreement will just be a useless piece of paper,” Gonzales said. Reports from Julie S. Alipala, Edwin O. Fernandez, Jeoffrey Maitem, Richel V. Umel, Inquirer Mindanao, Norman Bordadora in Manila; and Redempto Anda, Inquirer Southern Luzon
Copyright 2009 Mindanao Bureau. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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