Sealed peace pact may be a Trojan horse, warns Bayan Muna

Rep. Carlos Zarate. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines–Two rival political parties had differing views on the sealed peace pact between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Philippine government.

For one, Bayan Muna paty-list representative Ramon Zarate said the peace pact may be a “Trojan horse for charter change proponents.”

“We must also guard now that so that the peace deal may not become a Trojan horse for Charter change proponents, this is unquestionably bad and dangerous,” Zarate said in a statement Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Akbayan party chair Risa Hontiveros in a statement Tuesday lauded the peace deal as a “significant chapter in our country’s history.”
“While the challenges are great, these can be overcome. Peace is a shared task for all of us, Filipinos and the Bangsamoro,” said Hontiveros, who ran in the Liberal Party senatorial ticket twice but lost.

The two parties had a bitter history of countering ideologies.

The sealed peace deal between MILF and Philippine government would be the basis for a Bangsamoro basic law that would create the Bangsamoro entity.

Solons have shown apprehension that the law could open up the floodgates for charter change proposals especially as the annexes state that constitution may be amended to accommodate the provisions.

Charter change has been a thorny issue in the past Congress, especially as it was seen as a ploy by politicians to change the form of government and extend their terms of office.