The Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) wanted my town, Bataraza and one more Palawan town to be part of the Expanded ARMM, where a Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) is to take over the ancestral domain of MinSuPala's (Mindanao-Sulu-Palawan) original inhabitants -- the so-called Bangsamoros.
That is without any consultation nor notice to us Palaweños. We were caught unaware that GRP and MILF negotiators were putting us in a situation we don't want to be in precisely because we do not have any idea of the implications and consequences of integrating us into an entity which almost resembles an independent state within the republic. Had it not for the Supreme Court's TRO, they would have already signed the Memorandum of Agreement in Malaysia last week (August 5), with US Ambassador Kenney and other foreign officials witnessing.
I say that the MOA for lacking the essentials of due process, one of democracy's primordial principles, should be set aside.
Do the GRP and the MILF own a sound mind in talking about our inclusion in a juridical entity we ourselves are wary of. The Palaweños -- the present mixed inhabitants and breed of virtually all the ethnic groups in the country -- have rejected our inclusion in the ARMM in four (4) plebiscites already since the 80's. It means that the ideals and objectives of the so-called Bangsamoros do not apply to us. We do not feel threatened and discriminated. We are not living with the past but are continuing to forge ahead to that state and condition we desire. We recognize that paradigm shifts happen and it will be of narrow-mindedness if we continue to enclose oursleves in the not-so-pleasant past.
Muslims and non-Muslims, Christians and the indigenous peoples (Palawa'n, Tagbanwas, Molbogs, Bataks), natives and recent settlers of Palawan-- we all vow to continue exercising our rights and obligations as Palawenos-Filipinos. If only the panels of both the GRP and the MILF were cognizant of this, we Palaweños would not have gone out en masse, marched to, and gathered ourselves today at Puerto Princesa's freedom park, the Mendoza Park, to air our opposition to the inclusion of Bataraza and Balabac in the BJE territories.
The question that keeps popping up my mind every now and then is how dare they do this to us without even consulting or notifying us. It's not surprising to know about the scheduled signing of the MOA. It's totally enraging. Was that another of those shameful tactics of invoking the "executive privilege"?
At any rate, the MOA should be carefully studied. It should be remanded back to the negotiators because substantial constitutional considerations were not taken into account. Clearly, religion is of no issue to us. The issue is about the legal validity, ethical viability and socio-economic and political soundness of the contents of the MOA.
That is without any consultation nor notice to us Palaweños. We were caught unaware that GRP and MILF negotiators were putting us in a situation we don't want to be in precisely because we do not have any idea of the implications and consequences of integrating us into an entity which almost resembles an independent state within the republic. Had it not for the Supreme Court's TRO, they would have already signed the Memorandum of Agreement in Malaysia last week (August 5), with US Ambassador Kenney and other foreign officials witnessing.
I say that the MOA for lacking the essentials of due process, one of democracy's primordial principles, should be set aside.
Do the GRP and the MILF own a sound mind in talking about our inclusion in a juridical entity we ourselves are wary of. The Palaweños -- the present mixed inhabitants and breed of virtually all the ethnic groups in the country -- have rejected our inclusion in the ARMM in four (4) plebiscites already since the 80's. It means that the ideals and objectives of the so-called Bangsamoros do not apply to us. We do not feel threatened and discriminated. We are not living with the past but are continuing to forge ahead to that state and condition we desire. We recognize that paradigm shifts happen and it will be of narrow-mindedness if we continue to enclose oursleves in the not-so-pleasant past.
Muslims and non-Muslims, Christians and the indigenous peoples (Palawa'n, Tagbanwas, Molbogs, Bataks), natives and recent settlers of Palawan-- we all vow to continue exercising our rights and obligations as Palawenos-Filipinos. If only the panels of both the GRP and the MILF were cognizant of this, we Palaweños would not have gone out en masse, marched to, and gathered ourselves today at Puerto Princesa's freedom park, the Mendoza Park, to air our opposition to the inclusion of Bataraza and Balabac in the BJE territories.
The question that keeps popping up my mind every now and then is how dare they do this to us without even consulting or notifying us. It's not surprising to know about the scheduled signing of the MOA. It's totally enraging. Was that another of those shameful tactics of invoking the "executive privilege"?
At any rate, the MOA should be carefully studied. It should be remanded back to the negotiators because substantial constitutional considerations were not taken into account. Clearly, religion is of no issue to us. The issue is about the legal validity, ethical viability and socio-economic and political soundness of the contents of the MOA.
