Santiago says she’s not out to scuttle Moro deal

By: TJ Burgonio - 10 years ago

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—While she raised questions about its constitutionality, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago on Friday said she wasn’t out to scuttle the government’s historic agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

Santiago told government chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer that she welcomed the latter’s move to hold a dialogue with her on the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB).

“My interest is not to scuttle the FAB (Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro) but to ensure that it will be able to stand scrutiny in the Supreme Court,” she said in an letter e-mailed to Ferrer.

She said she would prepare a brief legal memorandum for Ferrer, “fleshing out her statements” to the press about the agreement.

In a speech before graduates in Olongapo City, Santiago said the agreement actually provides for the creation of a Bangsamoro “substate” and that the executive department is liable for misrepresentation when it referred to itself as the government in the talks, among other unconstitutional issues.

Ferrer said she would seek a meeting with the senator and the lawmakers to explain the agreement, but maintained that this complied with the Constitution.

On Friday, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda maintained that the agreement could stand legal scrutiny.

“The instruction of the President in negotiating for the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro was to make sure that it will be within the parameters of the Constitution; and we believe, certainly, that the CAB can withstand constitutional scrutiny—judicial scrutiny,” he said in a briefing.

Meanwhile, Lacierda said the Transition Commission has yet to submit the draft Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) that would be the basis of carving a new, autonomous Bangsamoro with greater political and economic powers than the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

“I think I can only echo the statement of Chair (Mohagher) Iqbal that they are in the process already of finalizing things. It will, hopefully, be submitted soon,” he said.