ROXAS: MINDANAO DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN NEGLECTED
SC MUST HAVE FINAL SAY ON UNCONSTITUTIONALITY OF GRP-MILF MOA

Liberal President Senator Mar Roxas said the welfare of people in Mindanao has been neglected amid the bungled up peace process, and that the controversial GRP-MILF Peace Panel Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain has not been the right approach to improving living conditions in the region.

"A Bangsamoro Juridical Entity created through this MoA is an attempt at a political solution to an otherwise economic problem. All of this discontent and turmoil is a result of the government's inability to listen to the real needs of the people," said Roxas, who today attended the Supreme Court's third oral arguments on the case against the MoA, for which Roxas is a petitioner.

Roxas reiterated that the Supreme Court must have a final say on the unconstitutionality of the provisions of the GRP-MILF MoA, so as to prevent its being used as a basis for future peace talks.

"We want to avoid the MoA being used as proof by the MILF that the BJE is a separate entity apart from the Philippines. The Supreme Court must be clear on the matter, that the agreement is constitutionally infirm, and that the Philippine government does not recognize an independent BJE," he said.

"Our government peace panel is now trying to skirt the issue by seeking the case's dismissal. This is missing the point. We don't want to just bury this particular MoA. We want to make sure that all future peace talks follow a constitutional process respecting our nation's sovereignty and requiring proper consultations with the people, especially those affected in Mindanao," he added.

He noted that those in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in particular have not benefited since the creation of the region in 1990. According to a 2005 Philippine Human Development Report, seven of the bottom 10 provinces in the country in a "human development index" are ARMM provinces.

Five provinces, namely, Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Sulu, Maguindanao and Tawi-Tawi, are among the ten provinces with the shortest life expectancy in the country. In addition, six of the bottom 10 provinces in terms of high school graduates, enrollment rates and real per capita income are from ARMM.

"Our government has failed to look after the welfare of our people in the South, whether Christian, Muslim or Lumad. We should thus start off our peace renegotiations with the goal of enabling them to improve their lives. This won't be done by splitting up our land and renewing tensions among our people," Roxas said.