A clear and present danger

The President just couldn’t end the week that was, sitting down. He had to say something to the nation, to the people. Obviously, his conscience is taking its toll. It is making him ponder on the present state of the nation. He knows that there is a clear and present danger looming in our country’s history.

Let’s start with the President. Did he really have to tell us the relationship he has with ‘suspended’ PNP Chief Purisima? There he goes again talking about himself before thinking of his countrymen. I don’t really care what kind of relationship they had in the past. All I care about is that he leads this country on the right path with certainty. But wasn’t it him and Purisima who bungled up the mission? There are way too many Truth Commissions and investigative bodies created for the Fallen 44 – PNP-BOI, AFP, CHR, DOJ, Senate, Congress, an international monitoring team and even MILF – all with the same objective of finding out the truth. What for Mr. President? Doesn’t the truth lie within you?

In his address to the nation last Friday, he said “I am the father of this country and 44 of my children were killed. They can no longer be brought back. This tragedy happened during my term and I will carry this to the end of my days.” Even when he uttered those words, many couldn’t feel his sincerity. Action speaks louder than words, Mr. President. Where were you when they died and where were you when their bodies returned? Where? After not giving them your utmost respect, you call them your children? Really? Why can’t we feel it? 

By the way, your words last Friday sound so familiar. I have a feeling your scriptwriters were inspired by Jordan’s King Abdullah II statement on the death of the Jordanian pilot Maaz Al-Kassasbeh. The King said: “The blood of martyr Mazz Al-Kassasbeh will not be in vain and the response of Jordan and its army after what happened to our dear son will be severe.”

This leads me to another point. The President and the BBL Peace Panel should take a look at what is happening to Jordan today. The tragedy that befell Ma’an, Jordan (a remote and poverty stricken place in Jordan) where Al-Qaeda inspired extremists are now in control of large groups in Iraq can happen to our beloved Mindanao.

Last week, during rallies in Ma’an, Jordan young men in black masks, raised their fists, waved home-made banners bearing the logo and inscriptions of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and shouted, “Down, down with Abdullah,” the king of Jordan. These demonstrations have been the first public display of support for ISIS in Jordan. They are stirring fear within the area.

Clearly, there is still danger in the peace process we are about to embark on. Our country is not ready for ‘peace’ because the grounds are still shaky. Muslims continue to kill Muslims aside from Christians. Perhaps we can find another solution to achieving peace like giving more attention to their well-being, their education, their health and their livelihood. Giving them their sovereignty (the full power to govern itself) on unsettled and very weak grounds is very dangerous. What is more troubling is the fact that there is a big possibility of terrorist support groups homegrown or otherwise, expanding and spreading throughout the country.

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, head of the Senate committee on constitutional amendments said that the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro is unconstitutional. P-Noy cannot just carve out a part of the country without a national plebiscite.

Former Supreme Court Justice Vicente Mendoza raised 5 main provisions in the BBL that are unconstitutional: 1) Use of the term ‘Bangsamoro territory’ – to call the proposed political entity as a ‘Bangsamoro territory’ is to consider it a separate part of the Philippines although under its jurisdiction. The Constitution does not contemplate any state in the jurisdiction of the state much less does it provide for a transition status that prepares any part of the Philippines for independence; 2) Use of the term ‘Bangsamoro people’ – provisions referring to “Bangsamoro people” limit suffrage and membership to the Bangsamoro government to those who ascribe to the Bangsamoro identity thus denying the rights and privileges of national citizenship guaranteed in the national Constitution; 3) Parliamentary form of government – this provision is contrary to the Constitutional provision that the autonomous region should consist of an executive and legislative branch, both of which shall be elective and representative of constituent unit; 4) Separation of powers – BBL lists down reserved powers for the central government, exclusive powers for the Bangsamoro government, and concurrent powers between the two – the Central government under the bill in question only has limited powers contrary to the Constitution which vested the national government with a repository of all powers minus powers given by the Constitution to autonomous governments; and 5) General supervision of the Bangsamoro government or the so-called “Asymmetric relationship” – the panels define “asymmetric relationship” as implying a special status of the Bangsamoro vis-a-vis the central government that is different from that of local governments and administrative regions. The autonomous regions for Muslim Mindanao and the Cordillera contemplated in the Constitution partake of this special and distinct status and can thus be described as asymmetrical.

Many believe that the Bangsamoro Basic Law will not bring peace and stability to Mindanao unless all parties including other non-Muslim natives agree. Did they include the Sultan of Sulu and the Muslim Tausugs in the pact? Did they consult our Christian brothers in the South? How can you achieve peace when some are excluded? How can you give peace a chance when not everyone is part of the pact? And what will happen if peace cannot be achieved through the BBL? Is the BBL the only solution for peace in the South?

I remember what my dad, the late Max Soliven answered when asked about what could be a long-term solution to the problem in the South. He said, “Everyone in Mindanao should be disarmed. Only the AFP and the police should bear firearms. Once this is done, only then could we talk peace.”