Ninez Cacho-Olivares
The Daily Tribune
The Daily Tribune
Bits and pieces regarding the discussions of the secret meeting that obviously has resulted in a secret deal with Noynoy giving in to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s demands are now being gathered, with the MILF, through vice chairman Ghazali Jaafar, being quoted as saying a day after the Tokyo secret meeting between Noynoy and MILF chairman Al-Haj Murad, that the MILF does not want autonomy, which is “inutile,” but a substate, which is a state within a state.
Jaafar explained what a substate is, saying that under a sub-state, Mindanao Muslims would have control over major aspects of governance, except national defense, foreign affairs, currency and coinage, as well as postal services.
What is not being stated and explained, however by Jaafar and Noynoy, is that under the MILF substate terms, this Bangsa Moro government, which, as the MILF is going to be given by Noynoy its “national identity,” will be fairly a copy of the Palestinian Authority (PA), a substate lodged somewhere in Israeli-controlled territory.
The Oslo Accords afforded the Palestinian Authority control over both security-related and civilian issues in Palestinian urban areas and only civilian control over Palestinian rural areas. The remainder of the territories, including Israeli settlements remain under exclusive Israeli control. The PA has police control within the territories that have been included.
The creation of the PA was a result of the Oslo accord. But at this time, the PA seeks full statehood, as this too, is also part of another agreement.
That the MILF substate will be granted by Noynoy a helluva set of government powers can be gleaned from what was stated by Jaafar. So “Mindanao Muslims” would not have control over the Department of Defense, but note that the control over the Philippine National Police has not been included in the exception, because the “BangsaMoro Authority” will have its own police force, which would be no different from the Oslo-agreed police force. This probably explains the absence in the Tokyo secret meeting of the PNP chief, whereas the DND chief was in attendance.
Foreign Affairs, as claimed by Jaafar, is not included either, but given the insistence of a Bangsa Moro national identity, this could mean that this new government body can issue passports that will bear a stamp of the Bangsa Moro nationality. Perhaps this was the reason the DFA was not included in the secret meet.
But a powerful Islamic substate’s policies will be dealing with Muslim and foreign governments, which would be more attuned to financial aid and loans on infrastructure projects and more besides, since the Transport and telecoms department is excluded the MILF control list, even if currency and coinage system, along with postage services, is included in the exemptions toward the creation of a Bangsa Moro substate, which would be easy to agree to, since it would be difficult, even for a substate, to have its own currency and coinage immediately.
But look at what Noynoy has given the soon to be established Bangsa Moro Authority: Control over Mindanao’s natural resources, since the Department of Natural Resources and Environment will have no control over this Islamic entity. The Justice system will be under the Muslims’ control, no doubt through their Shariah law, which translates to an independent Islamic judiciary. The Bangsa Moro entity will have control over the its own finance agency, which means it will have control over Muslim Mindanao customs and of course revenues. This translates to the substate having control over arms importation , with which it can build a stronger armory when the time comes for it to secede from the Philippine state and establish its own independent Islamic state, in a bloody fight. Recognition by the Muslim and foreign governments of the substate as an independent state will be no problem, since they would already have acknowledged the Bangsa Moro authority and will be working with this entity independently.
There will also be created by this Bangsa Moro Authority its own legislature, judiciary and executive branches, with a substate president and a parliament, whose head will be appointed by the head of the Moro government.
What, at this time, the MILF seeks and already has been granted by Noynoy, in all probability, is a de facto federal state, but disguised to go around the Constitution by this secretive and highly untransparent president, as a Bangsa Moro Authority operating under the Philippine government.
And as the Bangsa Moro Authority will be a substate, it will have full power and control over the ARMM, which will be reduced to just a meaningless constitutional autonmous region.
This secret deal, which will show likely up in an executive order creating the Bangsa Moro Authority, may be rejected by the high court if challenged, since the Constitution does not allow for the existence of a substate.
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