GENERAL SANTOS CITY  — By its latest shift of negotiating position with the MILF (Moro Islamic Liberation Front), the AGRP (Arroyo Government of the Philippines) has put itself in tighter bind. Mired now in lost credibility, how can it extricate itself? Malaysia, the Organization of Islamic Conference, and others in the international community may be diplomatically polite but they are not naïve.

Metaphorically, AGRP abandoned its baby – the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain – with the MILF after a lavish party had been prepared and the sponsors and guests had started arriving for the historic baptism. No lies, fallacies, inconsistencies, equivocation and obfuscation, etc. can explain away the abandonment.

But President Arroyo, her close advisers and allies believe their lies, fallacies, inconsistencies, equivocation and obfuscation, etc. and that soon the world will believe them. Believe, believe — just keep on believing the lies, fallacies, inconsistencies, equivocation and obfuscation, etc. to soon believe them as the absolute truth.

Latest Position

The latest AGRP position: The government will not sign the MOA-AD in its present form or in any other form. By this, the AGRP has abandoned its baby with the MILF, ruined its honor and credibility in the international community, and doomed the peace process.

But President Arroyo said, “We have never deviated from the objectives of the peace process.” (Philippine Star, August 26) Press Secretary Jesus Dureza: “We are not stopping the peace process” (MindaNews, August 31) – only refocusing it. Dooming it but not deviating from it, not stopping it! Only refocusing! What equivocation!

The AGRP abandoning the political settlement – the MOA-AD – will now focus on the DDR (disarmament, demobilization and rehabilitation). Briefly and clearly, the MILF will first lay down their arms in surrender. If the MILF refuses, the AGRP will no longer negotiate with it but “with communities”. Why equivocate, obfuscate to be inconsistent with realities?

Why the Change?

The reasons for the 180-degree turn-around are as amusing as confusing as exasperating.

Foremost, it’s made to appear, is the raging war in Lanao del Norte and Maguindanao that is being blamed on two “rogue” MILF base commanders. Now, the AGRP, unleashing its military might against the two commanders, can provoke the entire MILF. How fatal the mistake can possibly be!

Peace with justice is the rallying cry. Yes, justice for the victims of the MILF raids. There is nothing wrong with that. But there’s a tremendous wrong with peace disregarding justice for the historic wrongs done to the Muslims for centuries. Peace with injustice is monstrosity.

Second, constitutional questions and hostile reactions met the MOA-AD. Did the AGRP not anticipate them? It agreed to set aside the Constitution as a term of reference in the negotiation and kept the Congress and all other sectors in the dark? Why did it not prepare to defend the legitimacy of its baby?

Third, obviously as afterthoughts, after negotiating for seven years, the AGRP now sees infirmities in the negotiation processes – only after the Supreme Court has restrained the MOA-AD signing. These are deemed to have rendered the MOA-AD not binding to AGRP.

• Reports the August 30 Philippine Daily Inquirer citing an anonymous source: “There were issues, procedures (and instructions the President had given the government peace panel) that were not followed.” The same “source”, on cue from Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, exonerated the panel for not having “heeded the instructions of the President ‘in good faith’”. This sounds like a scripted lie to bail out President Arroyo from gross irresponsibility. [I’m just curious: Is Ermita the “anonymous source”? –ppd]
• President Arroyo had not yet seen the MOA-AD in its final form; hence, the agreement is just “codification of points of consensus” and a “process in continuum” that the President has to approve, Solicitor Agnes Devanadera told the Supreme Court. Unbelievable! All contentious issues were referred to the security cluster of the cabinet. Was President by-passed by the cluster? Last July 27, she sent Panel Chair Rodolfo Garcia and Peace Adviser Hermogenes Esperon to Kuala Lumpur to initial the MOA-AD. Was that not an act of approval?
• That leads to another infirmity – that the negotiating panel had the authority to negotiate but not to sign any agreement. Ridiculous! This is a statement generally referring to all AGRP panels, not just Garcia’s. So all agreements and memorandums signed by panel chairs since 2001 were unauthorized. Or was this conveniently referred to the Garcia panel only to invalidate the MOA-AD?

Obviously, the Arroyo government, in its present confusing and contradictory position, wants to render the case in the Supreme Court moot and academic. The case will no longer have grounds to stand on. With the MOA-AD unsigned and never to be signed in its present or in any other form, the constitutional questions and hostile reactions are deemed muted.

Still Damned

But as the saying goes, “Damn if you do, damn if you don’t.” And the AGRP is still damned.

The senators want the Arroyo “government to immediately bring the peace process back to track” (Philippine Star, August 31) – not the “refocused peace talks” but the abandoned one. Sen. Joker Arroyo said “there will always be problems in Mindanao” if the peace process is discontinued. “We should never stop until a solution is found.”

Others: Resume the negotiation with transparency according to the Constitution. Fire the peace panel and those who have recommended the MOA-AD. Change Malaysia with either Japan or China as the facilitator. Unfortunately, the senators are tasking the AGRP to do the distasteful.

Instead of welcoming the government’s setting aside of the MOA-AD, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel accused the government of taking “the Moros for a ride” and of having “no strategic planning … to advance the national interest”.

The more Sen. Francis Escudero saw the “flip-flopping” of the government and blamed that for the war in Mindanao. Sen. Loren Legarda demanded of the Arroyo government to “admit its mistakes on the MOA-AD”.

Senseless

Refocusing the negotiation to the DDR is senseless. Who told President Arroyo that the MILF will lay down its arms on her order? Negotiating with the communities is insane. What will the communities “disarm” and “demobilize” so the government will “rehabilitate” them? Or will the Arroyo government task them to “DD” the MILF in return for the “R”?

Junking the MOA-AD and refocusing to DDR is insanity. How did President Arroyo lose her focus with her fawning secretaries hailing the DDR as the best option for the peace process?

How can the AGRP resume the talks based on the MOA-AD? Malaysia may continue to facilitate the talks. But the aborted signing has snapped in a moment the MILF confidence it took eleven years to build. Maybe that can be won back by signing the MOA-AD as the subject of the comprehensive compact negotiation.

Will the Arroyo government do that? But that will be taking back its declaration not to sign the MOA-AD in its present or in any other form. But even if it does – a double abandonment – the return of the MILF is just a big “Maybe”.

MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal said the MILF, having lost confidence in the Arroyo government, “might as well wait for the next president after the 2010 elections”. With the MOA-AD scrapped and the peace process “in purgatory”, the MILF warned of a full-blown war. (Philippine Daily Inquirer, September 1)

Tighter Bind

With the peace process is in limbo, the AGRP is in a tight bind. And, at the Supreme Court hearing, two justices said that the Supreme Court had saved the country from the binding effects of the signing of the MOA-AD but their opinions imply that the Philippines is still in a tighter bind.

Justice Adolfo Azcuña: In international law, a declaration of consensus points would be binding on the government. Even a unilateral statement by representatives of a state before an international forum is a binding obligation, and the state could not renege on its obligation by claiming that the agreement was unconstitutional. (INQUIRER.net, August 30)

He further said that (1) had the MOA-AD been signed, the Philippines would have been required to change its internal laws to comply with it; (2) since the agreement had been initialed, the Philippines would be compelled to sign it once the TRO is lifted; and (3) as the broker of peace, Malaysia could even use the Philippines in the international courts to compel compliance with MOA-AD.

Justice Antonio Carpio, sharing Azcuña’s views, said: “If this case is brought to the International Court of Justice by Malaysia and the International court agrees that this is an international obligation, the Philippine government is obliged to change the constitution.”

Is the MOA-AD binding to the Philippine government under international law? It is a declaration of consensus points. While it was not signed, it was initialed. Contrary to the AGRP position, the MILF claims that under international law, an initialed agreement is as good as signed. This is arguable but if there such a law it is a ground for a case in an international court.

The petitioners are asking the Supreme Court to declare unconstitutional and annul MOA-AD. The Solicitor General is contending that it is an internal – not an international – agreement. Will this alter the standing of MOA-AD in the eyes of Malaysia, Libya and others in the international community that have helped facilitate the negotiation and the peace process in Mindanao?

Besides the discomfort of whatever binding effect the MOA-AD has on the Philippines under international law, the AGRP, by aborting the signing and abandoning the agreement, has already embarrassed and tarnished the country’s honor and credibility before the international community.

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