Talks over Sabah to be revived

KUALA LUMPUR (via PLDT) – President Arroyo agreed yesterday with Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad to revive official talks between the Philippines and Malaysia on their conflicting claims over the mineral-rich Sabah island.

At the outset, however, Mrs. Arroyo said she is not making any official stand yet on whether the Philippines will drop its claim to Sabah in deference to the proprietary rights of the legitimate heirs of the Sultan of Sulu.

"I’m saying it will take a long time and extensive studies and extensive consultations to resolve the issue. So I’m not prepared to give any statements without consulting people in the south or even the north of the Philippines for that matter," the President stressed.

"The thing is we have to look for ways to resolve the issue," she pointed out.

Mrs. Arroyo disclosed yesterday in her press conference at the Shangri-La Hotel here that she and Mahathir have agreed to form their respective panels to resume official negotiations on the Sabah issue after the Malaysian prime minister raised this matter during bilateral talks the other day at the Putrajaya.

"Prime Minister Mahathir and I discussed it in our one-on-one and we agreed that we should move forward towards a cordial resolution of this issue," the President said.

"Of course, he understands that we have to do this slowly and with extensive consultations with our constituents. So we have to form our respective panels to study how this issue can be approached," she pointed out.

The President said she will immediately instruct Vice President Teofisto Guingona Jr., concurrent secretary of foreign affairs, to start the ball rolling on the Philippine side to prepare the discussions with his counterpart Malaysian minister.

"All of those details will still be forthcoming. I will instruct my secretary of foreign affairs to start working on that because it is only now that Mahathir and I even discussed the possibility of finally resolving the issue because previous to this it was always swept under the rug," Mrs. Arroyo pointed out.

Although the Philippines has not actively pursued its claims on Sabah, the President explained yesterday the Philippine government, through the DFA, has not totally left it unattended.

"As long as the claim ... is there, then the DFA is duty-bound to enter into an intervention in any international legal proceedings that has to do with the islands in the area," she pointed out.

Aside from Sabah, the Philippines and Malaysia have also conflicting territorial claims over the islands, reefs and shoals in South China Sea along with other claimant countries in the region.

There are an estimated 50,000 "regularized" Filipinos with work permits and passports and 60,000 Muslim refugees from Southern Philippines in Sabah.

Given this significant number of Filipinos there, Mrs. Arroyo expressed support to a possible opening of Philippine "consular services" in the island.

Interviewed at Malacañang by the Malaysian Straits Times last Saturday the President said: "I am not against the idea. We will see if Congress provides a budget for the idea."

Brillantes recalled that it was during the term of Mrs. Arroyo’s late father, President Diosdado Macapagal, and then Malaysian Prime Minister Sukarno when the Philippine claim over Sabah was temporarily set aside.

He also expressed conditional support to the proposal for consulate services in Sabah.

"If only for the mandate to render assistance and protection to our nationals, it would appear that there is obvious need for some kind of regular or even formal presence by the Philippine government in that area," Brillantes said.

He stressed that this Sabah issue is really the call of Congress and the President will only execute whatever final policy is reached by Philippine lawmakers. – Marichu Villanueva