Noy keeps gov’t peace panel

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino has decided to keep peace adviser Teresita Deles and chief negotiator Miriam Coronel-Ferrer amid calls for their replacement on allegations they represent the interests of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) more than the government.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said Deles and Ferrer enjoy the full trust and confidence of the President.

Lawmakers, including Aquino’s political allies, have observed that Deles and Ferrer appear to be lawyering for the MILF in congressional hearings.

Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano was very vocal against keeping Deles – of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process – and Ferrer, who both seemed to be speaking for MILF interests.

At one point during last Tuesday’s hearing, Cayetano also asked both officials if they were working for the government.

Cayetano appealed to Aquino to fire Deles and Ferrer and look for their replacement that would represent the government in the peace process. “I’m calling for their resignation. Actually, the President should fire them and not even get their resignation,” he said.

Sen. Francis Escudero also joined the calls to replace Deles and Ferrer. He said both officials failed to effectively promote the best interests of the country.

Escudero criticized the government peace panel for acting like they were on the side of the MILF after the Mamasapano incident.

“I am not asking that they pick a fight with their counterpart, but they should show that they are on the side of the SAF (Special Action Force) 44. They should show that they are on the side of the government, our soldiers and our police,” Escudero said.

“It should not be the case that in every opportunity, they always come out defending the other side,” he added.

According to Escudero, there have been several instances when the MILF was coming out with statements that were not acceptable on the part of the government and yet the members of the government peace panel did not make a whimper.

He cited the intention of the MILF to submit a copy of its report on its own investigation into the Mamasapano incident to Malaysia instead of the Philippine government as among the matters that the government peace panel should have aired its protest.

Escudero also cited the statement of MILF chief peace negotiator Mohagher Iqbal that its fighters involved in the firefight with the policemen would be presented to the International Criminal Court as war criminals instead of going through the local justice system.

Escudero said the public is looking for “righteous indignation” from the government peace panel over the deaths of the 44 SAF operatives at the hands of MILF combatants.

He said Ferrer and Deles should start speaking for the side of the government or be replaced.

Unfair

Senate President Franklin Drilon, however, led other lawmakers in defending Deles and Ferrer.

Drilon rejected calls for the removal of the government peace panel members, saying this was unfair and uncalled for.

“I appeal for a deeper public support and understanding of the role of the government peace panel in the realization of our goal of providing lasting and genuine peace in Mindanao, which for four decades suffered from all forms of insurgency and criminality,” Drilon said.

“While I fully understand and recognize the public’s high emotions following the Mamasapano tragedy, Sec. Teresita Deles and Prof. Miriam Coronel-Ferrer do not deserve to be maligned in such an unwarranted manner,” he added.

Drilon argued that Deles, Ferrer and the rest of the government peace panel are tasked with securing peace in Mindanao, and their actions before and after the Mamasapano incident are based on their mandates.

“Let us not be too hard on those working for the preservation of the peace process with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Contrary to accusation, our peace panel is actually protecting the government and the Filipino people’s interest by protecting and continuing the peace process amid the tensions resulting from the Mamasapano clash,” he said.

The importance of the BBL

Amid the fallout caused by the killing of the 44 policemen in Mamasapano on Jan. 25, Aquino is pushing for the passage of the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law in Congress with hardly any changes that would virtually favor the MILF.

Aquino would not even consider suspending deliberations on the BBL in Congress while several investigating bodies have yet to conclude their findings on the bloody police operation.

Coloma related that Aquino reminded the congressmen last Monday of the importance of approving the BBL to pave the way for the holding of a plebiscite.

Aquino wanted to give the members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) sufficient time to demonstrate their capabilities so that the MILF can finally join the May 2016 elections as a political party, according to Coloma.

Some of the congressmen who met Aquino in Malacañang last Monday said the President trusts the MILF.

Isabela Rep. Giorgiddi Aggabao said Aquino reiterated his trust in the MILF to abide by the peace agreement with the government signed on March 27 last year.

In that meeting, Aquino clarified his role in the covert operation to arrest Malaysian terrorist Zulkifli bin Hir, alias Marwan, and Filipino bomb maker Basit Usman.

He asked the lawmakers to pass as soon as possible the BBL, which seeks to create a new autonomous region in Mindanao.

“The President has expressed his continuing and abiding trust with the MILF and he believes the MILF has shown good faith, and I guess this is also one of the reasons why he wants the BBL passed,” Aggabao said.

Aggabao said Aquino was emphatic in calling for the passage of the BBL, telling lawmakers there “was no other alternative unless we go back to war.”

“I really wish somebody can tell me we have another option,” Aggabao quoted Aquino as saying.

The House aims to pass the measure by June. The enactment of the BBL is one of the Aquino administration’s commitments to the MILF under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro. – Paolo Romero, Marvin Sy