|
By Jomar Canlas, Reporters
The Department of Justice junked some provisions
in a draft agreement on “ancestral domain” between the
government and Muslim rebels. It said these terms would result in a
separate government for the separatists.
In a five-page memorandum to the government
peace panel, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez pointed out that some
provisions in the draft agreement violate the 1987 Constitution for
they would practically dismember the country. He cited these terms
give the Muslim insurgents full authority over the ancestral domain.
The agreement also contains provisions that are
“tantamount to the surrender of a part of the territory and
sovereignty of the Republic of the Philippines,” Gonzalez said
Thursday.
Recognizing the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE)
and altering the geographic areas of the provinces under the
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the Justice secretary
added, would effectively amend Republic Act 6734, or the Organic Act
for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. “Bangsamoro”
refers to Muslims in the Philippines, particularly those in parts of
Mindanao, the base of the secessionist rebels.
Gonzalez said Muslims cannot establish their own
government within the ancestral domain that they are claiming
through the juridical entity. He added that this entity cannot be
given juridical personality in the absence of a law passed by
Congress.
“Therefore, it cannot be empowered to build,
develop and maintain its own institutions.”
Gonzalez advised the government peace panel to
ensure that its position on the ancestral-domain issue must conform
with the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997. Under this act, the
National Commission for Indigenous Peoples will be the lead agency
that will resolve the issue.
He criticized paragraph 5 of the draft, which
says the Bangsamoro people are “a domestic community distinct from
Filipinos.” Gonzalez warned that this provision “suggest that
the Bangsamoro people are not Filipinos.”
The sovereignty of the national territory,
Gonzalez said, must not be compromised by allowing the establishment
of a separate institution or government.
He also attacked a proposal of the draft
agreement to create courts under the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity for
it would undermine the independence and jurisdiction of the
judiciary and Congress. This term is “unconstitutional because
only Congress has the power to create courts,” Gonzalez said.
The proposal reads, “Judicial courts presently
exercising civil and criminal jurisdictions, under the laws of the
Philippines, shall continue to dispense justice until such time as
the structure of the organization of criminal-justice functions [is]
transferred to BJE.”
“While we recognize the importance of forging
a lasting and peaceful political solution to the conflict in
Mindanao, the same should, however, be pursued without undermining
the integrity, sovereignty and territory of the Philippines,”
Gonzalez said.
He also warned foreigners against interfering in
the peace process since “the “Mindanao conflict is an internal
issue.” Allegedly, a representative of Malaysia to the peace
process had tried to meddle in it.
|
