4th of a series
GENERAL SANTOS CITY — If Muslim Autonomy, whether it is the ARMM or the BJE version, is real autonomy, it must have a strong economic economy. With weak economy like what the present ARMM has, political autonomy is meaningless. From this, the Bangsamoro quest in MOA-AD for their ancestral domain, lands and [...]

3rd of a series
GENERAL SANTOS CITY - Recapitulation: In sum, people (Bangsamoro: Consensus 1), territory (Bangsamoro homeland: Consensus 2), resources (ancestral domain and ancestral lands: Consensus 3), governance (self-governance as Bangsamoro right: Consensus 4), and the authority and jurisdiction of the autonomous government (the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity: Consensus 5) contemplated in the “Concept and Principles” strand [...]

2nd of a series
GENERAL SANTOS CITY — This completes the discussion of the “Concepts and Principles” of MOA-AD. Part 1 discussed Consensus points 1, 2 and 3 – who the Bangsamoros are, what the Bangsamoro homeland is, and what ancestral domain and ancestral lands are.
What is self-governance as the right of the Bangsamoro people? (Consensus [...]

1st of a series
GENERAL SANTOS CITY — Opponents of the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain pinned it down on the question of constitutionality. At the Supreme Court hearing, the respondents led by the solicitor general admitted that the MOA-AD could not be implemented without amending the Constitution. That sealed the question.
The admission elicits the [...]

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 [...]

GENERAL SANTOS CITY — Last Tuesday, August 26, The Philippine Star carried President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s declaration: “We’ll remove all obstacles to peace.” Just like her recent policy statements on the Mindanao crisis, she did so as guest in a public ceremony.
The Star reported: “President Arroyo maintained yesterday that the government is determined to remove ‘all [...]

GENERAL SANTOS CITY — The Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain of the Government with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front can be the ultimate solution to the centuries-old Moro problem – to write finis to the protracted peace process. Unfortunately, the GRP and MILF peace panels ignored essential realities, turning the solution into the [...]

GENERAL SANTOS CITY  — The plebiscite for Category A(B) municipalities and barangays to be included in BJE in 2009 will generate conflicts that will block the road toward the peace process unless the GRP and MILF panels could correct the faults on time. Consensus 2(d) on Territory states: “Without derogating from the requirements of [...]

GENERAL SANTOS CITY — What an irony! The Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain that the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front crafted for four years and seven months to bring about lasting peace, as of the moment, is imperiling the peace process. It has roused a storm of protests and [...]

GENERAL SANTOS CITY — Now it is settled: Submitting HB 4832 to the plenary is a desperate act of the House defying a looming impossibility to pass a law postponing the August 11 ARMM election in order to remove a perceived stumbling block – which in reality is not — to the peace process. The [...]