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Editorial posted to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Website (Sep 16): Editorial - Agreements are binding

No matter what happens the MILF will abide by and stick to agreements signed with government – and we will consistently invoke them. This is not only to protect and preserve the gains of the peace process but also to ensure that we are standing on solid moral grounds. By this, we will surely not regret later. As one high MILF leader once said: “It is better to secure a centavo already in the pocket than to hunt for a peso still in the wilderness.”

In particular, the MILF will always hold on to the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) and the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB). And we continue to respect and abide by them. These agreements, which were signed with third party facilitation, clearly defined our relations with the government and how the various provisions thereof are going to be implemented by the parties.

Similarly, we urge the government to do the same, because failure to do so is a breach of contract. The first casualty would be the loss of trust and confidence on the government. Increase frustrations among the Bangsamoro people will also ensue.

Building trust is very difficult to develop and achieve. It is a long process. Words, or more precisely rhetoric, are not enough to secure it. Honest actions or programs, or more accurately, compliance, must back it up. But losing it is not as difficult. One clear act of deceit or doubletalk is enough to loosen or shatter it.

The delivery of the BBL is a unilateral responsibility of government. It is a commitment contained in the FAB, CAB, two executive orders signed by then President Benigno Aquino III, and later by Executive Order No. 08 signed by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte. The Peace and Development Roadmap adopted by the GPH and MILF peace panels in Kuala Lumpur on March 21, this year, also indicated the pathways the BBL has to move through. Its enactment has also been the promises of President Duterte, the last of which was made during the meeting between MILF leaders led by Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim and President Duterte and several high ranking cabinet members in Malacañang Palace last September 4.

But recent development of the BBL is not encouraging. The government is not pushing it in Congress. It might even be side-lined to give way to shift of system of government from unitary to federal. Or it may not come at all during the term of President Duterte because constitutional change, which will surely face fierce resistance from those who are enjoying and benefitting from the highly centralized status quo, is hard to realize. It is not for easy picking.

However, to this day, we still look forward to President Duterte making true his promise that he will make the BBL as a template for federalism in this country. We are sure these are not empty promises but are meant to be fulfilled.

Even more stunning, however, was his statement during the presentation of the BBL in Malacañang Palace last July 17. He loudly proclaimed that “within the context of the Republic of the Philippines, there shall be a Bangsamoro country.” And everybody cheered for it.

However, the use of the term “country” is very hard to fathom. If one has to exaggerate, the meaning would be more than the grant of autonomy. But whatever it is, it is still in the safe side. The controlling mechanism is the premise, “within the context of the Republic of the Philippines.”

http://www.luwaran.com/news/article/1004/agreements-are-binding

Communist leader Jose Maria Sison on Friday slammed President Rodrigo Duterte, describing him as the "worst kind of president" who is on his way to declaring a "fascist dictatorship."

Sison, founding chairman of the Communist Party of the Philippines, said Duterte controls all branches of government and has drafted a "killing budget" that allocates only P1,000 for the Commission of Human Rights and millions of pesos to law enforcement in the campaign against illegal drugs.

READ: House votes for only P1,000-budget for CHR

"I think I have a lot of criticisms to make of previous presidents, but this is the worst kind of president," Sison told ANC's Early Edition.

"I would say that Duterte is very well on the way to proclaiming a fascist dictatorship. He’s preparing for martial law and to impose a fascist dictatorship in the Philippines," he said.

Duterte's control of the Supreme Court, he said, is manifested by the "quick acquittal of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as a way of paying for the support" the former president gave the incumbent.

The leftist leader also slammed the "glorification" of the late dictator, Ferdinand Marcos, whose remains were laid to rest at the Libingan ng mga Bayani with the high court's nod.

"That Supreme Court has already given a blank check for proclaiming martial law nationwide," Sison said.

"But the attack of Duterte on [Chief Justice] Sereno is meant to complete, to tighten complete control over the Supreme Court," he added, referring to the impeachment complain filed against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.

GOV'T PREPARING FOR MASSACRES?

Sison also denounced the Lower House's move to allocate only P1,000 to the CHR, which supports his statement that Duterte is heading towards dictatorship.

"The way the budget is made, it’s a killing budget, a budget for killing people, and a budget for expressing contempt for human rights."

"Reducing budget of the CHR to just P1,000 and then giving ‘tokhang’ this scheme of mass murder, 900 million plus other funds of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and a huge intelligence fund of Duterte—this is a budget for fascist dictatorship and for killing more people," he said.

Sison claimed P50,000 is the "going price" for each head of drug users and street-level peddlers, while P100,000 is for each suspected communist rebel.

"They’re preparing for massacres in the Philippines," he said.

"We are looking forward to despotic regime of widespread death and destruction. That is already well demonstrated in the destruction of Marawi," he added.

Duterte earlier said he has decided to abandon peace negotiations with the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP), saying the fighting between government and communist rebels could go on for “another 50 years.”

http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/15/17/joma-says-duterte-building-fascist-dictatorship

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