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SC stops g of ancestral domain agreement with MILF Article posted August 04, 2008 - 03:41 PM

Memorandum of Agreement on the Ancestral Domain Aspect of the GRP-MILF Tripoli Agreement on Peace of 2001

Get Adobe Acrobat Reader MANILA, Philippines - A day before the scheduled g of the final draft agreement on ancestral domain between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the Supreme Court on Monday ordered the halt in the g of the pact. In an en banc meeting, the High Court issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the g of the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain in Malaysia, granting the petition of North Cotabato Vice Governor Emmanuel Piñol and several other personalities who voiced opposition to the agreement. "The court has decided to issue a TRO to refrain respondents from g the MOA," Jose Midas Marquez, Supreme Court spokesman, said. "The court would like to find out the real issues before some irreversible acts can be done. So, we want to maintain the status quo," Marquez said at a press conference. The Supreme Court - voting unanimously - set oral arguments on the matter for August 15, 9 a.m., and ordered the Office of the Solicitor General to submit a copy of the draft memorandum of the agreement to the High Court "not later than August 8." Last week, Piñol and other local government officials in Mindanao questioned the draft agreement before the High Court, saying there was a lack of consultation with residents of the areas to be covered by the "ancestral domain." Piñol said he asked the High Court to compel the government to explain the contents of the agreement, and defer the g of the agreement on Tuesday while the explanation is "pending." In particular, Piñol and other local government officials in Mindanao opposed the reported inclusion of some of the barangays in their respective areas in the expanded Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Earlier in the day, Piñol said the Supreme Court has given government peace negotiators until Monday noon to submit their comments defending an agreement on ancestral domain with the MILF. Also on Monday, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Hermogenes Esperon Jr said consultations with local officials were conducted before the government committed to its position. Esperon further said the plebiscite that will decide the inclusion of more barangays in the expanded ARMM will serve as "the highest form of consultation" for the inclusion of additional barangays in the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity. This, as he itted that the government’s position on the proposed agreement with the MILF on the issue of ancestral domain was deliberately hidden from public eye. The Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front were supposed to sign the agreement Tuesday in Malaysia, which has been brokering the negotiations. The accord, which aims to expand an existing autonomous region to add 712 more villages, sparked protests from residents.

An AP report said that Christian politicians protesting the accord have warned that an enlarged Muslim homeland could spark renewed sectarian violence. "It's a setback," presidential spokesman Jesus Dureza said of the court's decision. Rebel spokesman Eid Kabalu also called the decision a setback, adding that his group remained committed to peace talks. But Kabalu said he did not know how rebel commanders, already restive in the last few months because of frequent deadlocks in talks, would react to the court's decision. A Philippine delegation led by Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo had boarded flights to Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur, for the event when the decision was issued, prompting the Manila government to abruptly cancel the ceremony. The MILF, the largest of at least four Muslim rebels groups, has an estimated 11,000 armed fighters. It has been battling for self-rule in the predominantly Roman Catholic nation's volatile south for decades. It has been accused by the Philippine military and police of providing sanctuary and terror training grounds to alQaeda-linked militants, including those from the Indonesia-based Jema'ah Islamiyah, in their southern jungle strongholds. But the group has strongly denied the accusations. The accord, forged last month by government and rebel negotiators, expands an existing six-province Muslim autonomous region in southern Mindanao region, subject to the agreement of residents in a plebiscite within a year. Esperon denied accusations that the government was giving away territory to rebels. "No sovereignty is given here. This is for the benefit of Mindanao and the country," he said, adding it is "better to talk than fight." US and Philippine officials hope a peace accord could transform the resource-rich southern Philippines into a bustling economic hub instead of a breeding ground of terrorists.- Amita Legaspi and Johanna Camille Sisante, AP, GMANews.TV

Palace delivers final blow on ancestral land deal By : William B. Depasupil, Reporter Manila Times 8 September 2008 | 12:10 AM THE Office of the Solicitor General has submitted to the Supreme Court the official Malacañang communication formally dissolving the government peace that negotiated with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). This is expected to boost the government’s position that the controversial Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain has become moot and academic. Chief Justice Reynato Puno directed Solicitor General Agnes Devanadera to submit the said document at the conclusion of the High Court’s oral argument on the agreement on August 28, along with the final draft of the agreement and the travel authorities of Hermogenes Esperon, the presidential adviser on peace , and Rodolfo Garcia, head of the government peace . The Malacañang memorandum, signed by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, was forwarded by the Solicitor General to the High Tribunal on September 4.

Ermita’s memorandum, which was addressed to Esperon, came out on September 3. It was attached as “Annex-A” in the Solicitor General’s seven-page manifestation. “Please be informed that the President has dissolved the Negotiating of the Government of the Philippines [GRP] with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front headed by Ret. Gen. Rodolfo Garcia effective immediately,” Ermita’s memorandum read. Merely recommendatory The Solicitor General, in its manifestation, also stated the “President is consistent with the respondent’s position that the powers of the GRP negotiating are merely recommendatory and that the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain will no longer be signed in pursuant to the memorandum of the Executive Secretary dated August 28, 2008.” Devanadera told the High Court during the oral argument the agreement was a mere “codification of points of consensus” and “a process in continuum.” In the end, it will still have to be approved by President Gloria Arroyo. The High Court spokesman, lawyer Jose Midas Marquez, said the President’s order that dissolved the government peace is also expected to be tackled by the Court when it will deliberate on the petitions filed against the agreement, and the motion of the Solicitor General. Petitioners wanted the High Court to issue a ruling on the constitutionality of the agreement. However, the High Court also ordered the petitioners, which include the provincial government of North Cotabato and city governments of Zamboanga and Iligan, to submit their respective memoranda within 20 days, starting August 28, the last day of the oral argument. Marquez said that there were many possibilities as to what the Court will do owing to the complexity of the issue. “There were a lot of points raised during the oral argument. One possibility is for the Court to decide whether the issue has been mooted or not with the declaration of Malacañang that it will not sign anymore the agreement,” Marquez said. But Marquez also pointed out it is also a possible the High Court might just issue a resolution, similar to what it did with the scrapped $329-million national broadband deal with ZTE Corp. of China. The agreement on ancestral domain was supposed to be signed August 5 in Malaysia by the government and the MILF if not for a temporary restraining order issued by the High Court on August 4.

The Solicitor General itted during the oral argument that if the agreement was signed, it would have compelled the Arroyo government to “drastically” amend the Constitution. Saturday, August 23, 2008

SC hangs action on petitions vs MOA-AD THE Supreme Court (SC) on Friday deferred action on the motion of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to moot all petitions opposing the memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain (MOA-AD) until the government categorically stated that it will no longer sign the pact with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Visit the Beijing Olympics 2008 blog At the resumption of the oral arguments on petitions questioning the constitutionality of the MOAAD, Chief Justice Reynato Puno directed Solicitor General Agnes Devanadera to submit a consolidated reply to all the supplemental motions opposing her motion to dismiss the petitions not later than Tuesday next week. "Acting on the plea of the OSG and the parties, the Court resolves that the OSG should file a consolidated reply to the various Oppositions on Tuesday before 12 noon so that the motion will be properly considered in the Court en banc session," Puno said. Puno also ordered the OSG to submit the draft of the controversial MOA, which has been initialed by of both negotiating s on Tuesday. The oral arguments will resume next Friday, at 9 a.m. Devanadera said while it is withdrawing from the g of the controversial MOA in its present form, the government is not closing its doors from the peace process with the secessionist group and vowed to course the matter through the Legislative-Executive Development and Advisory Council (Ledac). "Circumstances have changed and therefore after discussion and the assessment, the executive has already come up with a final decision on this that the MOA will not be signed. There is no more act that will be restrained, therefore the petition must be dismissed," she said in an interview with reporters. She pointed out that the heavy fighting in Mindanao between the military and the alleged "lost" command of the MILF symbolizes the violation of the ceasefire agreement. Although it may be too late, Devanadera said government is still conducting consultations with leaders of provinces that will be affected by the expansion of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Armm), which shall be called the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE). After the consultations, the government will certify as urgent a bill, which will identify the specific local government units and provinces that will be included in the proposed expanded Armm. Israelito Torreon, lawyer for petitioner North Cotabato Province represented by Governor Jesus Sacdalan and Vice Governor Emmanuel Piñol, said the high court should rule on the constitutionality of the MOA-AD despite the government's decision to abandon the agreement. Torreon said while the Provincial Government is ive of the peace process, it take exceptions to the fact that its leaders were not consulted about the province's inclusion in the BJE under the MOA-AD.

He said the province is not amenable to the dismissal of the petitions as there has been no "unequivocal" statement from the government that there will be no g of the MOA in the future with similar . "This is an opportunity for the Court to upon the formulation of the MOA, whether or not it is in accordance with the Constitution and to provide guidance to the Court and the government in case it decides to sign a new MOA with the MILF or other groups," Torreon said. The lawyer said that granting without itting that the petitions have been rendered moot because of the government's withdrawal from the g of the MOA, the SC should still rule whether constitutional provisions have been violated, or to rule whether respondent government exceeded its jurisdiction in initialing the MOA. Torreon pointed out that the SC is also called to rule upon the exceptional character of the situation and to give the a guiding principle when it negotiates with the MILF anew. "Sovereignty resides in the people. There was no authority on the government because there was no consultation. The contract is void. Consultations should have been made at all levels," he said. But Associate Justice Antonio Eduardo Nachura pointed out that technically, there is no agreement yet to nullify. Torreon then argued that as the agreement bore the initials of the of the government and MILF peace negotiating s, it was also enforceable and was only stopped by the court's issuance of a temporary restraining order last August 4. He noted that some provisions of the MOA are perfected agreements and have been initialed already, which according to him is in violation of the Constitution. He further said the agreement was crafted in secrecy by the government and that the people of North Cotabato only knew of the agreement last July 14. The initialed MOA, he said, formalized the proceeding. Among the executory provisions cited by Torreon was the government's commitment to conduct a plebiscite within one year after the g of the agreement, and that the BJE can conduct foreign relations. He also said that there are questions about provisions in the MOA regarding the sharing in the natural resources under the BJE. Torreon also urged the SC to declare that the MOA-AD is null and void on the ground of having violated the Constitution as the MILF has expressed its belief that the agreement is already a "done deal" with the initializing of the text. "There are provisions enforceable. If the MOA is signed, all provisions will be enforceable and thus will be considered a definitive position on how to deal with the MILF. The consultation would have worked to help government know its limits and parameters in negotiating," he said. (ECV/Sunnex)

Saturday, August 16, 2008 Senators slam OSG for trying to reset hearing By Efren L. Danao, Senior Reporter Senators slammed the move of the Office of the Solicitor General to delay the Supreme Court hearing on

the memorandum of agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The High Tribunal denied the motion of the Solicitor General, but this did not stop the senators on Friday from questioning why the motion was filed in the first place. “It was clear that the government legal could not provide a clear explanation for the actions of the government negotiating ,” Sen. Mar Roxas said. He said the government had enough time to study the agreement so it could not validly claim that it was unprepared to defend it. Sen. Panfilo Lacson said that even if the hearing is postponed a number of times, the government would still be incapable of defending the “patently unconstitutional agreement.” “The government’s move to delay the hearing proved that it not prepared and that it is not hiding something,” Sen. Francis Escudero said. Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano was puzzled why the government opposed the issuance of the temporary restraining order on the g of the agreement when it was not even prepared to defend the agreement. “If the government cannot defend the MOA [memorandum of agreement], then it should scrap the MOA and start negotiating a new one,” Cayetano said. The government and the MILF were set to sign an agreement on the contentious issue of ancestral domain, during ceremonies on August 5 in Malaysia. But the Supreme Court issued a restraining order, after local government officials in Mindanao filed a petition asking the court to first compel the government to disclose the contents of the agreement.

From Positive News Media Main News Gov’t seeks review of controversial Memorandum of Agreement with MILF By Aug 21, 2008 - 7:17:05 AM MANILA, Aug. 21 (PNA) -- The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) has submitted a manifestation to the Supreme Court (SC) calling for a “further review” of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on Ancestral Domain to move forward the peace talks between the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and finally bring lasting peace in Mindanao. In his weekly media briefing in Malacanang, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Solicitor General Agnes Devanadera submitted the manifestation to the Supreme Court yesterday. “We were informed by the Solicitor General that they have presented a manifestation before the Supreme Court that there will be further review of the existing documents, especially the MOA with the end in view of moving negotiations that would lead to the drafting of the final peace agreement,” Ermita said. The Executive Secretary said that in her manifestation Devanadera pointed out that the two parties explained that the realization of the MILF aspiration for a Bangsamoro homeland “shall be achieved only by complying with the existing legal processes such as the enactment of appropriate legislation or amendment of the Constitution itself as well as the holding of a plebiscite.”

Ermita, clarified that the MOA is still not a final agreement since it is subject to certain conditions that have to be complied with. “The issuance of the SC of a temporary restraining order (TRO), coupled by present condition in some areas of Mindanao, dictates that the MOA in its present form must undergo review,” he said. Ermita said the Executive Department will pursue further negotiations leading to the crafting of a final peace agreement within the context of the Constitution. He said the Supreme Court has an oral argument on the GRP-MILF MOA on Friday to thresh out the issues at bar at the soonest time possible. (PNA)

© Copyright 2004 by Positive News Media “Nothing to be declared unconstitutional,” OSG says to SC After the Decision of the Supreme Court on October 14 declaring the aborted Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) contrary to law and the Constitution, the Office of the Solicitor General filed a Constancia (Spanish word for “a matter of record”) to convey to the High Court that there is nothing to be declared unconstitutional since the Executive Department has earlier on decided that the MOA-AD will not be signed in its present form or in any other form. In addition, the Executive Department also disbanded the Government of the Republic of the Philippines (GRP) Peace . Solicitor General Devanadera earlier asked the High Court to dismiss all petitions filed against the MOA-AD because the issues raised in these petitions have become moot and academic in view of the President’s decision to abandon the MOA-AD and to adopt disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) as its overall strategy in providing solution to the violence in Mindanao. In its Constancia filed on November 3, Devanadera stated that there is no act, effect or consequence of the said MOA-AD that is to be obliterated with the declaration of its unconstitutionality as it had never come to life and had never come into existence at all. Looking back, the supposed g of the MOA-AD scheduled on August 5 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia was put into a halt with the Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) issued by the SC. Several more petitions were filed against the MOA-AD and oral arguments were held in view of these petitions. Devanadera also said that the SC’s ruling by a narrow 8-7 vote is a “pyrrhic ruling” as there is nothing more to order, amend or enforce. According to her, this is evident in the dispositive portion of the decision, which gave due course to the petition and declared the MOAAD as unconstitutional without affording further specific reliefs to petitioners. This she considers as a clear manifestation of the mootness of the cases. But Devanadera cleared that the Executive is not in complete disagreement with the SC’s ruling and this can be gleaned from the Executive’s move to abandon the assailed MOA-AD even before the SC issued its decision last October 14. Their only apprehension is the repercussion of this decision on the doctrine of separation of powers. Since the MOA-AD was just a draft and has not been and will never be signed and was completely abandoned, the action of the SC to declare the MOA-AD unconstitutional is “clearly an encroachment on the power of the Executive, thus exposing the Executive Department to possible embarrassment and ridicule in the eyes of gloating petitioners, including the international community,” Devanadera explained.

Devanadera agrees with the opinion of Associate Justice Brion that the peace and order problems of Mindanao are essentially matters for the Executive to address and rather than complicate the issues further with judicial pronouncements that may have unforeseen or unforeseeable effects on the present fighting and on the solutions already being applied [by the Executive Department], the SC should exercise restraint as the fears immediately generated by a signed and concluded MOA-AD have been addressed and essentially laid to rest. (By: Erika Joy C. Arcillas, OSG Web Team)

Oral arguments on MOA on Ancestral Domain continues The court battle on the controversial Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain is set to resume tomorrow, 22 August 2008. The Supreme Court decided to set the continuation of the oral argument a week after its original schedule of August 15 in anticipation of the petitions to be filed by other concerned sectors. During the August 15 hearing, counsel for intervenors former Senate President Franklin Drilon and United Opposition Spokesperson Atty. Adel Tamano, confirmed the Solicitor General’s stance that the MoA-AD is not a final agreement as it still has to comply with certain conditions. Three days before the continuation of the oral argument, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) filed a Manifestation and Motion maintaining that the present condition in some areas in Mindanao necessitates a thorough review of the MoA-AD. In fact, the Executive Department will pursue further negotiations with the MILF to address the issues hurled against the MoA-AD. Such further negotiations entail consultation with various stakeholders, including those who will be affected by the expansion of the present Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). Hence, the dismissal of the petitions is only but proper. It can be ed that on the eve of the g of the MoA-AD between the Government Peace (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the High Court issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) ening the g of the MoA-AD and setting the petitions filed by the Province of North Cotabato and the City Government of Zamboanga for oral argument. Claiming their right to be furnished a copy of the memorandum, petitioners anchor their petitions on the constitutionally guaranteed right to information in consonance with the government’s policy on full public disclosure. Two more petitions seeking to declare the memorandum unconstitutional were also filed by Drilon and Tamano and by the Municipality of Linamon, Lanao del Norte, as intervenors. Earlier in its Comment, Solicitor General Agnes VST Devanadera argued that there is no grave abuse of discretion on the part of the GRP Peace because the right of the people to information regarding the ongoing negotiations on the MoA-AD is subject to legal limitations. Likewise, said negotiations are covered by the doctrine of executive privilege because they partake of the nature of diplomatic negotiations, disclosure of which could subvert military or diplomatic objectives. Further the MoA-AD per se is neither a final nor a self-executing agreement, but a mere codification of consensus points reached by the GRP-Peace and the MILF, the realization of which could only be achieved by Congressional intervention, amendment of the Constitution, and the holding of a plebiscite. Hence, the petitions should be dismissed for being premature. (By: Erika Joy C. Arcillas, with reports from the legal division of Assistant Solicitor General Vida G. San Vicente)

Sol Gen asks SC to dismiss petitions against MOA-AD Solicitor General Agnes VST Devanadera yesterday filed a Manifestation and Motion praying that the Supreme Court order the dismissal of petitions seeking to nullify the Memorandum

of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). In the Manifestation Sol Gen Devanadera explained that circumstances have changed from the time of the intended g of the MOA in Malaysia. According to her, fighting in some areas in Muslim Mindanao had resurfaced led by some disgruntled groups of the MILF following the filing of various petitions questioning the constitutionality of the MOA. Just recently, it was reported that some 40 civilians lost their lives after a group of MILF attacked some towns in Lanao del Norte. Sol Gen Devanadera also said that the issuance by the Supreme Court of a temporary restraining order that stalled the g of the MoA last 05 August 2008, coupled by the present condition in some areas in Mindanao dictate that the MOA, in its present form, must undergo a through review. She even pointed out that the Executive Department will pursue further negotiations with the MILF to address the issues hurled against the MOA and that these further negotiations with MILF necessitate consultation with various stakeholders, including those who will be affected by the expansion of the present Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. By pursuing further negotiations with the MILF, Sol Gen Devanadera added that the Executive Department is “clearly not insensitive” to the views expressed by the Justices of the Supreme Court during the oral arguments held 15 August 2008. The SC directed the petitioners to comment on the Manifestation and Motion not later than 21 August at 4:30pm. The oral arguments will continue on Friday, 22 August 2008. (By: Erika Joy C. Arcillas, OSG Web Team)