GRP, MILF defer MOA signing on Bangsamoro homeland deal
The Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) have called off the signing of a territorial deal after the Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on Ancestral Domain.
Both peace panels from the government and the MILF had earlier expressed optimism that a Bangsamoro homeland accord would be signed Tuesday in Putrajaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
Both peace panels from the government and the MILF had earlier expressed optimism that a Bangsamoro homeland accord would be signed Tuesday in Putrajaya, Selangor, Malaysia.
The accord would entail the widening of the existing Muslim-dominated autonomous region in the southern Philippines, thus offering the Bangsamoro people broader political and economic powers.
A report from the ABS-CBN said the Supreme Court ordered the executive branch to furnish the SC copies of the final draft of the MOA-AD. It also said the Court set a hearing on the oral arguments on August 15.
Midas Marquez, spokesman of the SC, said the SC did not touch on the merits of the case.
The TRO was in response to petitions of local officials of North Cotobato and Zamboanga seeking to stop the signing on the ground that they were not consulted on the MOA-AD.
As this developed, Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said the SC decision means the signing of the MOA-AD scheduled Tuesday is cancelled.
He said the SC is the final arbiter on legal issues. “We respect the Supreme Court’s temporary restraining order (TRO) against the signing of a MOA on ancestral domain with the MILF.”
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu called the TRO a “setback” to the peace negotiations but said they are confident the government will convince the high tribunal about the rightness of the MOA.
"This requires more the explanation from the government. We will let the government defend its side," Kabalu told reporters.
He added that news of the TRO had not reached their commanders on the ground.
Dureza called the extra time afforded by the TRO a "good opportunity for issue to be threshed out" and would provide a venue for the government to explain why there should be an agreement on ancestral domain, which would lead to the creation of the BJE.
"This is a relief as a whole; this will allow dispassionate, objective discussion on the merits of issues surrounding the agreement," he said.
On Monday, officials of Zamboanga City filed their own petition against the MOA.
Under the MOA-AD, a plebiscite would be held within a year in nearly 730 villages adjacent to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to determine if they want to be part of a new Moro homeland.
A report from the ABS-CBN said the Supreme Court ordered the executive branch to furnish the SC copies of the final draft of the MOA-AD. It also said the Court set a hearing on the oral arguments on August 15.
Midas Marquez, spokesman of the SC, said the SC did not touch on the merits of the case.
The TRO was in response to petitions of local officials of North Cotobato and Zamboanga seeking to stop the signing on the ground that they were not consulted on the MOA-AD.
As this developed, Press Secretary Jesus Dureza said the SC decision means the signing of the MOA-AD scheduled Tuesday is cancelled.
He said the SC is the final arbiter on legal issues. “We respect the Supreme Court’s temporary restraining order (TRO) against the signing of a MOA on ancestral domain with the MILF.”
MILF spokesman Eid Kabalu called the TRO a “setback” to the peace negotiations but said they are confident the government will convince the high tribunal about the rightness of the MOA.
"This requires more the explanation from the government. We will let the government defend its side," Kabalu told reporters.
He added that news of the TRO had not reached their commanders on the ground.
Dureza called the extra time afforded by the TRO a "good opportunity for issue to be threshed out" and would provide a venue for the government to explain why there should be an agreement on ancestral domain, which would lead to the creation of the BJE.
"This is a relief as a whole; this will allow dispassionate, objective discussion on the merits of issues surrounding the agreement," he said.
On Monday, officials of Zamboanga City filed their own petition against the MOA.
Under the MOA-AD, a plebiscite would be held within a year in nearly 730 villages adjacent to the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to determine if they want to be part of a new Moro homeland.
posted by Zamboanga Southwall at 7:22 PM
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