Aquino urged to address ancestral domain issue
AMITA LEGASPI, GMANews.TV
07/16/2010 | 02:26 PM

To address the Mindanao issue, the Aquino administration has to deal with the region’s most central problem — ancestral domain, said Satur Ocampo, former head of the National Democratic Front panel talking peace with the government.

Ocampo expressed his opinion in an interview with GMANews.TV Friday, a day after President Benigno Aquino III announced his choice, Marvic Leonen, for the post of chief government negotiator with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Leonen, dean of the University of the Philippines College of Law, as well as a lawyer and activist, may fit the role of chief negotiator but he might only echo existing government policies, Ocampo said.

"The only problem here is he cannot initiate an independent position different from what the President may define. Ang limitation ng isang chief negotiator is that implementor lamang siya nung policy decision ng principal which is the President," Ocampo explained.

Ocampo, a journalist and former representative of the party-list group Bayan Muna, said he is not aware of Leonen’s position on the issue of the ancestral domain, the bone of contention in the MILF-GRP peace negotiations.

"From my point of view it is important that the ancestral domain issue shall be solved satisfactorily to both parties," he said.

Malacanang announced on Thursday the appointment of Leonen as the head of the government panel in the resumption of peace talks with the MILF.

In a press statement, President Aquino said Leonen understands the country's history, different cultures, and aspirations.

Ocampo, however, said what the government needs to do is to be flexible, and even willing to amend the 1987 Constitution, if that would help achieve a satisfactory settlement of the “Bangsamoro issues."

Bangsamoro or Moroland, is the homeland of the Moro people, the largest non-Christian group in the country, comprising about five to 10 percent of the total Philippine population.
It was originally home to the Muslim sultanates of Mindanao which resisted Spanish colonial rule (1521 to 1898), and were not fully integrated with the rest of the islands.

However, during the American occupation of the islands (1898 to 1946), Bangsamoro was slowly integrated into the rest of the country.

In 1990, the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) was created to act as a homeland for Moros. At present, the ARMM includes the provinces of Sulu, Basilan (excluding Isabela City), Lanao del Sur, Tawi-Tawi, and Maguindanao (excluding Cotabato).

The Arroyo administration’s peace efforts with the MILF were jeopardized in late 2008 when the Supreme Court barred the signing of — and eventually ruled as unconstitutional — a memorandum of agreement on ancestral domain between the government and the MILF expanding the ARMM. – VVP, GMANews.TV

By ALI G. MACABALANG
June 11, 2010, 3:38pm
COTABATO CITY – A law professor has been appointed as new regional secretary of Department of Education in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (DepEd-ARMM) under the ARMM’s first salvo of its continuous bureaucratic revamp to help bring the impoverished region to greater heights.

Local education sector stakeholders and even media practitioners warmly welcomed the assumption in Thursday morning here of attorney-general Baratucal L. Caudang as new DepEd-ARMM secretary following his appointment by ARMM acting Gov. Ansarudding Alonto-Adiong.

Caudang, a law professor at the Mindanao State University (MSU) main campus, took his oath before ARMM Executive Secretary Naguib Sinarimbon, and proceeded to his new office and promptly held a press briefing to announce his initial plans and policies to teachers, education officials and other stakeholders.

He described his immediate predecessor, fellow lawyer Hamid Barra as “upright person” who, he said, may have been overwhelmed by the long-standing bureaucratic problems in the education department.
Also on Thursday, lawyer Pangilamun Mamowalas was sworn in as the new attorney-general, Caudang’s former position, in concurrent capacity as ARMM Cabinet secretary.

Sinarimbo earlier said the turnover of leadership in the education department was “just start” of the continuous performance audit and revamp under the Adiong administration.

ARMM gets ready for floods
By Charlie Señase
Inquirer Mindanao
First Posted 16:01:00 06/05/2010
COTABATO CITY, Philippines— The Department of Social Welfare and Development in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao has started stockpiling food in anticipation of displacements due to floods as the rainy season starts.

“We are prepared for any eventuality, that’s why we have the stockpile to respond to an emergency,” ARMM Social Welfare Secretary Pombaen Kader said.

In Maguindanao alone, several low-lying areas were considered flood-prone. These are in the towns of Sultan Kudarat, Datu Piang, Datu Saudi Ampatuan and Sultan sa Barongis.

Kader said that, in fact, the rains have already submerged some areas of Maguindanao and some 9,350 residents were affected.

She added, however, that no large-scale evacuation has been reported so far.

“Affected residents have not yet abandoned homes,” she said.

But Kader said social welfare officers were on alert to assist residents.

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) — one of the Philippines’ poorest areas — has become a huge employment agency, Senate minority floor leader Aquilino Pimentel said during a Senate budget deliberations on Tuesday (12.08.09).

Seventy percent of the ARMM’s P9.448 billion allocation was spent on salaries of personnel, it was learned during the proceedings.

Only 20 percent of the ARMM budget went to the maintenance and other operating expenses and 10 percent for capital outlay.

The ARMM governor was arrested, together with his other family members, for alleged connection in the killing of 57 people, (November 2009) including women and journalists, in Maguindanao.

Ampatuan’s replacement — ARMM vice governor Ansaruddin Alonto-Adiong — is still waiting for the result of the operational audit being conducted by the Department of Interior and Local Government.

The budget for the 2010 is earmarked for P9.435 billion.

It is pretty much standard that if a province, city, or municipality in the Philippines generates income and pay taxes to the Philippine government, about 70 percent of that money paid out will be re-invested to the source.

The ARMM generated less than 5 billion pesos in 2009 and received over 9 billion.

You do not have to be a mathematician to figure out the inequity here.

The other sad part is that the non-muslim filipinos in the ARMM area did not get to benefit from the allocation of the 9.448 billion pesos.

The Philippine flag carries a lot of meaningful symbolisms for the Filipino people.

There are three(3)stars in the Philippines flag. Each corner of the flag’s triangle contains a small, yellow, five-pointed star representing the three major geographical divisions of the country:

•Luzon
•Visayas
•Mindanao

The 1987 constitution refers to Mindanao not as “Mindanao” but as “Muslim Mindanao”. Yes Article 10 section 1 of the Philippine constitution refers to Mindanao as “Muslim Mindanao”. In Article 10 section 15 it repeats its reference to Mindanao as “Muslim Mindanao”.

Are we united as a democratic country of the Philippines? Or we just think we are. Because on paper, per the constitution, we are divided.

Declaring autonomous regions in the Philippines for the indigenous people is fine and is perfectly justifiable. But to create an autonomous region for a Religion? Now, that is contrary to Article 2 section 6 of the constitution which states: ”The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable.”.

So if Mindanao is no longer Mindanao but is now Muslim Mindanao and part of the ARMM which the President of the Philippines and the DILG has no control over, then we might as well fly a flag with only TWO STARS.

The president of the Philippines has no power over the ARMM. Yet the Philippine government budgets billions of pesos each year for the ARMM.

The department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has no power over the ARMM. The number one function of the DILG is to “Assist the President in the exercise of general supervision over local governments”. There are seventeen regions in the Philippines in which the ARMM is one of them. The DILG exercises control over the other 16 regions except the region of the ARMM.

The only bit of control the president has is over the OMA (office of muslim affairs) which is directly under the president. The OMA is not for all the Filipino people, it is only for the Muslims as the name implies. Millions of pesos are also allocated each year to this department where only one section of the Filipino people is benefited. I am not against any Religion. I am for equality. Why is there favoritism here? Was this the idea of the majority of the Filipino people? How did this slip through? Now they are talking about changing the constitution again.

Be aware people. Don’t you want equality? Don’t you want peace in the Philippines? The poor needs help. The government should not help “RELIGION”. The government should help the PEOPLE. After all we are a DEMOCRACY. A government for the people, by the people, and of the people.

Zamboanga.com would like to know your opinion regarding the questions below:

1. Article 2 section 6 of the Philippine Constitution states:”The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable.”
a. Do you think we should uphold the “SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE”?

2. If we uphold article II section 6 of the Philippine constitution which is the “Separation of church and state”,
a. Doesn’t it make this whole issue of the MOA unconstitutional since the MOA favors only the Muslims?

3. Thousands of years before Christianity or Islam settled in this archipelago, (now the Philippines) the indigenous people were here. The blood line of these indigenous people (Subanons, Lutaos, Samals, Bajaus, Tausugs, and Yakans) now run in veins of the people in Mindanao, some of them now Christians, some Muslims, and some belong to other religions. The Muslims arrived in the archipelago (Philippines) in the 14th century. The Christians arrived in the 16th century.
a. Do you think the Subanons, Lutaos, Samals, Bajaus, Tausugs, and Yakans have a claim to ancestral domain?
b. Do you think the Muslims in Mindanao have a claim to ancestral domain?
c. If these tribes (Subanons, Lutaos, Samals, Bajaus, Tausugs, and Yakans) were converted to Christianity instead of Islam, Do you think the government would give Christianity ancestral domain in Mindanao?
d. Can a religion claim ancestral domain?

4. Article 10 section 1 of the Philippine constitution refers to Mindanao as “Muslim Mindanao”. In Article 10 section 15 it repeats its reference to Mindanao as “Muslim Mindanao”.
a. Do you think the “architects” of the 1987 Philippine Constitution sold out Mindanao by referring to it as “Muslim Mindanao”?

5. The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) was created under Republic Act 6734, which followed the direction of Article 10 section 15 of the Philippine Constitution.
a. However, isn’t this contradictory to Article 2 section 6 which states: ”The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable.”?
b. Isn’t it unconstitutional for the Philippine Government to continue supporting the Muslim religion financially and not any other religion? E.g. OMA (office on Muslim affairs) and the ARMM

Your answers to the above questions will help enlighten the readers and viewers of zamboang.com and hopefully the rest of the Filipino people who may have the same inquiries.

Did you know the Current Philippine Constitution does not refer to mindanao as "MINDANAO". The philippine constitution refers to mindanao as "MUSLIM MINDANAO". Did you know that?

This was done back in 1987 when the ARMM was just a twinkle in the eys of our "leaders".

If you do not believe me, go check it out for yourself: www.gov.ph/aboutphil/a10.asp read section 1.

So you see even way back in 1987 they wanted "MUSLIM MINDANAO" to be seceded from the Philippines.

But there is still hope: Article 10 section 1 and section 15 are contrary to Article 2 section 6 of our constitution.

Talk to your friends about this issue. Do not be indifferent. Do not wait until it is too late to react.

Let us not divide the Philippines. Philippines means Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.

Let us live in Peace. The Philippine constitution gave us the Freedom to worship and it separated Religion from Government.
*****
The Muslims in Mindanao are disjointed regarding the idea of the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity. Some of the Muslims in the Philippines who live in Mindanao want to keep their nationality as Filipinos and not become citizens of the new Bangsa Moro. They want to exercise their constitutional freedom of Religion and be a Muslim while keeping their Filipino citizenship.

Why is the Philippine government continuing this negotiation with the BJE and the MILF on the methodology of breaking away Mindanao from the rest of the Philippines? Why are the Filipino people allowing this negotiation to continue? Stop the negotiation!!

Why must the negotiation with the BJE and MILF Stop? Here are a few answers that will enlighten you a bit:
The BJE and the MILF do not recognize the sovereignty of the Philippines.
The BJE and the MILF do not recognize the constitution of the Philippines.
All the people within the BJE and MILF are not Filipinos. Remember they do not respect or recognize the constitution of the Philippines. They are pretend Filipinos only. They pretend to be Filipinos when they want to go shopping or when they want their children to go to school. They pretend to be Filipinos only to reap the benefits from the Philippine government. They pretend to be Filipinos when they want to travel abroad because they need the passport.
The Muslims of Mindanao are not indigenous people! The people of Mindanao were here before the Muslims arrived (historians claim that the muslims arrived in 1380). The BJE have twisted this idea of ancestral domain. Majority of the Filipinos have indigenous ancestry but this majority have decided to modernize. Modernizing however, does not mean they have rescinded their indigenous ancestry. The BJE on the other hand is capitalizing on the desire of the Muslims for a muslim nation and therefore they are pushing this ancestral domain idea that the Muslims are indigenous people. They, the muslim people, may have indigenous ancestry but that doesn't mean that their religion of Islam or Muslim is indigenous.
The BJE and the MILF want Mindanao to be seceded from the Philippines. They want Mindanao to be an ISLAM nation like IRAN.

STOP THE NEGOTIATION. LET US LIVE IN PEACE!! We are filipinos regardless of race or religion.

Do we have a failure to Communicate???

Atty. Bong Montessa; Former legal consultant and chairman of the
technical working group of the GRP panel that negotiated with the
MILF in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia over the giving away of Mindanao to the
Bangsamoro Juridical Entity.

This is what Atty. Bong Montessa stated in last night's meeting I attended:

"The MILF is a revolutionary organization who does not recognize the
jurisdiction of the Philippines."

"The MILF does not recognize the decisions of the supreme court."

"The MILF agreed to have a peace negotiation with the Philippine Government so long as the Government does not mention the Philippine Constitution."

Basically, the MILF was saying "Give us what we want or we are going to war".

The Philippine Government negotiators with President Gloria M. Arroyo's approval accepted these terms to start the negotiation process.

What were the terms of the agreement or MOA?

The long term plan of the agreement was to give away Mindanao to the Bangsamoro
Juridical Entity.

The short term plan was to accumulate provinces, municipalites and barangays one at a time.

Do you agree with President Arroyo to give away Mindanao to the Bangsamoro
which will be a separate nation having its own constitution?

This decision should not be for the MINDANAOANS only.
This affects the citizens of the entire Philippines. This decision is for all the citizens of the Philippines.

What Pres. Arroyo is saying this: "You MINDANAOANS WILL NO LONGER BE FILIPINOS.
YOU WILL BE CITIZENS OF THE NEW BANGSAMORO NATION"

So What do you think people???? If you are for the Bangsamoro let your voices be heard.
If you do not want Mindanao separated from the Philippines let your voices be heard.

To all zamboanguenios and zamboanguenias.

Our administration ignored all the warnings that were given to them regarding the intention of Pres. Gloria Arroyo to give away Zamboanga City to the ARMM or Bansa Moro. The negotiation to do this had been going on in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia since last year but our leaders continued to ignore the reality of the danger.

So my fellow zamboanguenios and zamboanguenias the danger is at our doorstep. The decision was made to allow 8 barangays of Zamboanga City to be taken away through a plebiscite from our beloved zamboanga city.

Again our leaders are simply reacting to the problem. Today 8/4/08 they have staged a rally against this decision of ARRoyo to put the 8 barangays in a plebiscite and have the chance of being separated from Zamboanga City.

They forgot that the president already made the decision and that zamboanga was given ample time to protest before the decision was made. She won't reverse her decision. Actually I pray that she would Even though it is very unlikely.

Remember what happened to SouthCom and the national offices? They were moved to Pagadian. They staged a rally after the decision was made. They have not learned from their previous mistakes.

Now is not the time for protest. This is the time for campaign.

I appeal to you all to talk to the City Mayor, Councillors and congress representatives and tell each of them to go to each of the 8 barangays included in the plebiscite and campaign.
Tell them to convince the people in those barangays to vote for a united Zamboanga City.

Tell them to Stop dancing around like chickens. Tell them to Start the campaign before it is too late.

Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo’s giveaway of Mindanao to the ARMM is ongoing and getting stronger due to the lack of opposition on the part of the governors, congressmen, city mayors, and leaders of non-ARMM areas in Mindanao.

“There is already an agreement within the Cabinet on the issue of wealth sharing. So it’s 70-30 in favor of the MILF,” Ermita said.
“We had to come up with a way to accommodate the MILF demand that they don’t want the phrase ‘subject to constitutional processes’ included in the agreement because they consider themselves as rebels and therefore not covered by the Constitution,” the official said.

But the Palace official clarified that the draft agreement on territory approved by the Cabinet Tuesday still has to be fine-tuned before government negotiators proceed to Kuala Lumpur for a two-day executive session with the MILF on Feb. 18, 2008.

Even the muslim subanons do not want to belong to the ARMM.

They admit that the land is for the indigenous people as tribes and not as a RELIGION!!

Datu Kinoc, who talked on the “Role of Indigenous People in the Peace Process,” said the IPs should know better where they stand and where they position themselves in the ongoing talks.

“They (IP communities) object because they are not fully aware of the benefits they will get from the future agreement,” he said, referring to IP’s objections to Bangsamoro ancestral domain, one of the major talking points in the peace talks which define the territorial jurisdiction of the Bangsamoro people under the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE).

“They should erase those reservations because it doesn’t mean when we are part of BJE, we will be Islamized or MILF will govern us over our land,” he said, adding that “under BJE, all Bangsamoro people have their complete autonomy over their own land and properties.”


"THE ARMM WANTS TO ISLAMIZE EVERYONE WITHIN THEIR DOMAIN"

The Philippine government really wants to sell out the entire Mindanao to the ARMM. They insist that the "indigenous people were here before the Philippine government" was established so therefore Mindanao belongs to the ARMM.

Wait a second didn't they say "indigenous" people. Yes they did. The indigenous people were here before the Muslims "moros" or Christians were here.

So why are the muslims claiming that they are indigenous. The muslims are not indigenous. Muslim is a Religion originated in Saudi ARabia and established in Sulu sometime in 1380 according to historians. So prior to 1380 there were no established Muslim communities.

I am for the The Autonomous Region of Indigenous Mindanao, if the government can work it out properly. Get rid of the ARMM. Besides, there is the separation of church and state in the Philippines so therefore the ARMM is unconstitutional.

I challenge any lawyer or professor of law to prove to me that the ARMM is not unconstitutional.

I want to thank INC for sharing the idea that the ARMM should be abolished.

Let us all live in PEACE without religious prejudices.

Did you hear what happened to the English educator in Sudan this last week of November 2007?

She is a teacher in classroom full of muslim children. She is doing her work and the children loved her. She brought a teddy-bear to class. The children named it Mohammed.

Mind you, she did not name the teddy-bear the muslim children did. She did not know that naming the teddy-bear mohammed was a violation of the kuran.

So instead of blaming the parents of the children for not teaching them proper muslim practices, they the parents and the law of Sudan a muslim country, blamed the teacher.

They encarcerated her and they were going to execute her.

Here is a woman who is educating the children of the muslim world and what do they do to her. Punish her!!

Where am I going with this. Yes the ARMM. Do you want Mindanao to be a muslim community where you the non-muslim are simply infidels?

Can there be harmony with the muslims? We try. We try really hard. Can there really be harmony?

The answer is emphatically, YES!

We just have to open our eyes.

The foundation of the ARMM is unconstitutional.

The constitution of 1987 declares separation of church and state.
It states that "NO PUBLIC MONEY MAY BE SPENT IN SUPPORT OF ANY RELIGION".

Yet the philippine government continues to spend billions of pesos each year for the salaries of the governors, mayors and all the officers and employees of the ARMM.

The creation of the ARMM in 1989 is unscontitutional. If there is anyone out there reading this who can prove me wrong, please state so by answering to this post.

The fact is, even the best lawyers of our country can't prove me wrong. They are all quiet. Why? Because they know that I am right.

The creation of the organic act is unconstitutional!

Not only unconstitutional but also prejudicial. It is prejudiced against all the other religions in the Philippines.

Why are all the law-makers very quiet about this issue!

The poor in the philippines are dying from lack of food. A child committed suicide because she felt hopeless. Yet the government is spending billions of pesos on the politics of the ARMM.

The ARMM is a money-pit. Money goes to the leaders only. The poor stays poor. There are no substantial development in the ARMM areas. The ARMM areas remain to be the poorest in the nation because of exploitation from its leaders.

Wake up kababayans!!

You the leaders, you know that this is wrong. Why do you just standby and not say anything? Why are you indifferent. You think that you care, how come you do not react? Say something!!

The Philippine Government Continues to negotiate in Kuala Lumpur with the MILF to transfer Mindanao to the ARMM or Bangsamor Juridical Entity:

Why in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: By constitutional definition, all Malaysians are Muslim. Malaysia is a country where it is against the law to convert from the Muslim faith to any other religious faith. Punishable by imprisonment or death.

Last May 30, 2007 the civil court of Malaysia refused to hear the case of Joy who wanted to convert from the muslim faith to christianity.

"Joy is a Malay originally known as Azlina Jailani, and by Malaysian law her ethnicity automatically makes her a Muslim subject to Shari'a law. In order to make her 1990 conversion to Christianity legal, she needed permission from the Shari'a courts, which consider a renunciation of Islam a major offense."

President Gloria M. Arroyo continues to sell out Mindanao. The fight in Basilan which was prompted by the July 10, 2007 masacre, was initiated by the MILF but the Government managed to transfer the blame to the Abusayaff. So the MILF is innocent and therefore allowing the negotiation in kuala lumpur to continue since the MILF did not "break" the "peace agreement".

President Arroyo is pretending to wage war in Basilan and Jolo. But she is avoiding conflict with the MILF because the MILF is the representative of the ARMM in the negotiation in Kuala Lumpur to give away Mindanao to the ARMM.

There will never be peace in Mindanao as long as the ARMM is here. It has been pointed out that we have a separation of church and state and yet our government continues to support the ARMM which a MUSLIM organization. The support comes in a form of a yearly budget.

Should this negotiation fail because of civil unrest, the government will pretend to go into war with the MILF, MNLF or whichever organization is handy at the time to protect the interest of the ARMM.

Later when the dust settles down, The ARMM and the current Philippine administration will do their best to start the whole process again. Why? Because the source of the problem is the ARMM and unless the ARMM is abolished and no government supported religious groups exists anymore, this problem will be a never ending story.

Mohammed's rise to prophethood
Mohammad Ibn Abdallah was born in the year 570 AD to the Quraysh Tribe in the city of Mecca. His father died before he was born and his mother Amina died when he was 6 years old (Mohammed claimed descent from Ishmael's son Kedar). At the age of 25, Mohammed married a 40 year-old wealthy, widow named Khadijah who owned trading caravans. Traveling as a representative of Khadija's various business interests, Mohammed was exposed to many Jews and Christians and became enthralled by their theology, particularly their concept of a single deity. It was at this time he began to envision a single, united Arab state under a single 'god.': www.creationapologetics.org/editorials/islamsmohammed.html

The MILF and the Philippine Govt. are negotiating more in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Today (6-1-07)the MILF is very happy because the Philippine Govt. is thinking of giving the MILF another 1000 villages (barrios or barangays) to be added to the ARMM. This is almost the entire MINDANAO!!! How could they do this to us??? I am for the autonomous region for the indegenous people of Mindanao but not for Muslims. Can't give and should not give autonomy to a RELIGION. There will be a war here in Mindanao if this sellout of the Philippine goes thru. The children of Mindanao will suffer and the Mothers of Mindanao will CRY