MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 15, 2012) – The sectoral group Migrante party-list on Monday expressed apprehension over possible and dangerous implications and effects on the public of the government peace pact with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Connie Regalado, president of Migrante party-list, voiced out concerns over proposals to amend the Constitution following the signing of the Framework Agreement between the Aquino government and the MILF.
“We recognize that this development is borne out of the decades-long struggle of the Moro people, led by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, to attain their right to self-determination. We laud the MILF and the Moro people for their perseverance in striving for just and lasting peace in the region. However, we now put forth our apprehensions over possibly ‘dangerous’ provisions in the accord that may well affect not only the Moro people but the general public,” Regalado said in a statement sent to the regional newspaper Mindanao Examiner.
“We understand that the Bangsamoro Framework Agreement has to be in accordance with the Philippine Constitution and its legal processes. This entails charter change that may be exploited by the present administration for the further plunder of our natural and human resources by foreign investors and companies, especially in the Mindanao region.”
She said their position on the issue of charter change is the same as it was in the past Muslim homeland deal which was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
“Our position on charter change is the same now as it was in the proposed Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain during the time of former President Gloria Arroyo. Charter change at this time is too treacherous especially now that the Aquino administration seems hell-bent on disregarding national sovereignty and patrimony in the form of the re-entry of US and other foreign troops in the country and his flagship program of Public-Private Partnership,” Regalado said.
Aside from charter change, Regalado also questioned the timing of the signing of the Bangsamoro agreement which is just a few months before the start of the electoral campaign period.
“We fear that this move, on the part of the Philippine government, may just be another tactic to consolidate administration allies and leaders in the to-be-formed Bangsamoro region. While we sincerely trust the intentions and vision of the Moro people, we cannot say that we have the same confidence in the Aquino administration,” she said.
“The Bangsamoro Framework Agreement is still too broad and general in scope and provisions that would make the Bangsamoro overly-dependent on legal, constitutional and even financial undertakings by the government necessitate vigilance on the part of the Filipino people,” she added.
Regalado said the Migrante party-list will stand firm in the belief that just and lasting peace in the Mindanao region and in the country can only be achieved if the government genuinely addresses the root causes of poverty, landlessness and unemployment and lack of social services in the country. “These very root causes are the main reasons why our countrymen are being forced to migrate abroad, or in this context, take up arms to express discontent against the prevailing status quo,” Regalado said.
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