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By Angelo S. Samonte, Reporter
The Arroyo administration will
support the adoption of a federal system of government if that is
the only way to break the deadlock in the government’s peace
negotiation with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Jesus Dureza, the presidential
adviser on the peace process, on Thursday said that since the
government will not change its stand on the ancestral-domain issue,
the adoption of federalism may be an alternative to solve its
impasse with the MILF.
The Philippine government has
been insisting that the Constitution be the basis in drafting an
agreement with the MILF on the issue of ancestral domain.
The Arroyo administration said it
will never relinquish its stand on the issue and will not dispense
with constitutional provisions in talking with the MILF.
The peace negotiations with the
Muslim rebels hit a snag late last year on disagreements on how to
treat the ancestral-domain issue. This led to the failure in
drafting a final agreement.
It was reported that the MILF
plans to bring the case to the International Court of Justice. But
Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said also on Thursday that he thinks
bringing the issue to the International Court “will change our
position.”
“I am reiterating our position
that as far as respecting [the] Constitution is concerned, that
[ancestral-domain issue] will remain and cannot be negotiated. We
would like to move forward with the peace process,” Bunye added.
On Wednesday, the government
rejected appealing to Malaysia to extend the tour of duty of its
peacekeepers in the International Monitoring Team, and instead asked
a local interfaith group to help implement its ceasefire agreement
with Muslim rebels.
Nonetheless, the government
thanked Malaysia’s role in facilitating negotiations with the MILF.
“We no longer asked Malaysia to
extend its mandate. That is their decision, and it has also made
very public pronouncements on the pullout of its team,” Dureza
said.
He added that government is
eyeing to tap the Bishops-Ulama Conference to complement the
international peacekeepers from Brunei and Libya who will remain
beyond August 31, the date when the tour of duty of the monitoring
team ends.
At least 21 Malaysian
peacekeepers are set to leave the country on Saturday to mark the
beginning of the phased withdrawal of Malaysia’s military
contingent to the monitoring team.
Malaysia criticized the
Philippines for allegedly foot-dragging in signing a peace agreement
with the MILF.
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