EDITORIAL - Splitting hairs

If the Aquino administration wants to give away millions in public funds to armed insurgents, their sympathizers, or rebel returnees, it should be prepared to take full responsibility for its actions. Even if previous administrations committed to give the aid, the buck stops with the incumbent. President Aquino has overturned many decisions of his predecessors, including those covered by executive orders and signed contracts, and even if the reversals have incurred lawsuits against the government.

Trying to pin the responsibility for its acts on previous administrations gives the impression that the current one is unsure of its decisions, and is harboring a suspicion that the government of daang matuwid may be taking the wrong path. It hasn’t helped that former officials of the past two administrations have denied proposing the grant of P5 million to the separatist Moro Islamic Liberation Front ostensibly to set up a leadership training school, or that there were conflicting stories at the start about where and when the fund was given.

Even before that issue has been fully clarified, the government has come under fire for giving P31 million reportedly to the Alex Boncayao Brigade. For those who have forgotten the ABB, it broke away from Jose Ma. Sison’s main faction in the Communist Party of the Philippines over differences in winning the insurgency. The ABB, which preferred urban terrorism, faded away following the assassination of its founder, Felimon “Popoy” Lagman, in 2001.

Presidential peace adviser Ging Deles has clarified that the P31 million didn’t go directly to the ABB but was a livelihood grant that went to communities where former ABB members now live. This sort of hair-splitting is uncharacteristic of an administration with an avowed commitment to transparency. If the P31 million is a fund for rebel returnees, it shouldn’t require convoluted explanations.

The administration appears to have been stung by criticism that it is trying to buy peace and giving away public funds that are exempt from auditing rules. There is also the impression that the administration is rewarding armed groups for recent attacks on both military and civilian targets, which have caused nearly 30 deaths and the destruction of mining installations and equipment, including about 90 trucks.

President Aquino must have a reasonable explanation for what his peace advisers have described as confidence-building measures. If he thinks those recent moves were a mistake, he can always put together a new peace team.