Amidst the disarray in Malacañang, it looks like Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita is asserting authority which had almost slipped out of his hands sometime ago.
Consider these confusion in Malacanang:
Last Thursday, Gloria Arroyo, in her speech at the 2nd Philippine International Motor Show at the World Trade Center, announced a policy shift towards the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, with whom her administration had forged an agreement for the creation of a Bangsamoro homeland that would include the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao and more than 700 barangays from North Cotabato, Zamboanga City and Palawan.
She announced this supposed policy shift a few days after hostilities in North Cotabaro and Lanao del Norte that left more than 30 dead and some 70,000 homeless .
Arroyo said:“Our engagements with all armed groups shall be about disarmament, demobilization and rehabilitation or DDR. From negotiations, our focus shall shift to dialogues with the communities, or government conducting authentic conversations or dialogues with the people.”
Taking from what her boss said, ” Lorelei Fajardo, presidential deputy spokesperson, issued a statement that.”The cancellation of the memorandum of agreement is a painful step in our collective effort to come to an agreement with the MILF.”
Asked what would be the next step after the cancellation of the MOA, Fajardo replied: “She (Arroyo) will seek a new agreement within the boundaries of law set within the constitution. Furthermore, the president will not allow adventurism by MILF forces to pressure government to sign any agreement even if it is for peace.”
While this was going on, the two retired generals, Rodolfo Garcia, head of the government panel in the negotiation with the MILF, and Hermogenes Esperon, presidential adviser on peace process, were at a forum in the National Defense College in Camp Aguinaldo. They were standing by the initialed MOA -AD, which the MILF considers a “done deal” even if the signing was aborted by the Supreme Court.
“There is no such thing as cancellation of the MOA…It could be in the range of options but canceling the MOA would be tantamount to setting aside all the efforts of the peace panels since 2001,” Esperon said.
Fajardo, meanwhile, revised her statement after a few hours deleting the word “cancellation”. She said, “The President remains committed to peace but the development in Mindanao leaves us no choice but to review and revisit the provision contained in the MOA AD…The administration of PGMA upholds greater public interest. She is committed to upholding the Constitution and thus will seek peace within the boundaries of law set within the Constitution.”
This jibes with the pronouncement of Ermita, also retired military officer, that the MOA “is not canceled.” but only subjected to “a thorough review.”
Malacañang was also confused how to deal with MILF Commanders Umbra Kato and Bravo. Kato was the one who withdrew his forces (the MILF said “re-positioned”) from Pikit after North Cotabato Vice Governor Manny Piñol reported their “occupation” after the the SC’s temporasry restraining order. Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno, however, said Kato’s men had been in Pikit long before the Aug. 5 SC order.
Commander Bravo was the one who led the massacre and burning in Lanao del Norte last week.
Puno announced a P5 million each reward for the capture of Kato and Bravo and have filed several charges including murder, arson against the two. This could be under the “disarmament” policy of Arroyo.
The MILF, however said they will not surrender Kato and Bravo. The latest report by ABS-CBN quotes an MILF sub-chief, Commander Anderson, as saying that they will not stand down until the government resumes negotiations.
Ermita’s takes the middle position. Inquirer reports that Ermita said the government was not asking the MILF to order Kato and Bravo to surrender “because otherwise the peace negotiations will not continue.”
“We’re not setting down any conditions. We’re just appealing to the MILF leadership that hopefully there will be an environment that is conducive for the peace talks to resume.
Ermita, however, said the fact that the MILF leadership admitted they have members who do not follow orders is “a tacit approval also for the government to run after them as common criminals.”
Senator Francis Pangilinan articulated the confusion of the public on Malacañang’s flip-flopping. He asked,”Is anyone in charge? The unclear stand of Malacañang is very disturbing. It makes us wonder if there is anyone in charge,”
He further said, “”Malacañang needs to provide direction, not confusion. The uncertainty will only end if somebody truly takes charge. To put it simply, that really should be the job of the President.”
We know that in the power struggle in Malacañang, Ermita has been sidelined by Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno, who was rumored some months back to assume the position of executive secretary.
It has been reported that Ermita was offered the ambassadorship to the U.S but he declined it and asked for something that he knew Arroyo won’t give: Pagcor chairmanship.
Ermita is in a vantage position to see the real state of the Arroyo presidency. A survivor of numerous power struggles, Ermita knows the value of patience and timing.
There are as many policies as the number of cabinet members trying to mouth idiotic statements in their attempt to ingratiate themselves to Gloria Arroyo. The result is confusion.
Ermita, in taking the middle stand, is not really helping clear the situation because in the first place, his job is to defend the position of his boss. However, we cannot blame him entirely because there appears to be no policy at all.
We are being treated to a mirage of conflicting policies, policy-shifts by the day, etc that create the impression that nobody is really in charge. I tend to believe that all these are deliberately done in order to confuse us and divert our attention from the real issue…..and that issue is TREASON!!!
Soldiers dying and civilians caught in the crossfire are but the consequence of TREASON committed by Gloria, Esperon and those others who conspired with them.
Belated statements of bringing Commanders Bravo and Kato to justice, of reviewing the MOA-AD, of consulting the stakeholders, of upholding the rule of law, etc will erase the fact that Gloria and Esperon had committed acts of TREASON.
THAT, we should remember always and that we should make them accountable.
Correction,
…will NOT erase the fact….
If Ermita is in charge, Ramos is not far behind.
Why are the metro-Manila newspapers (their editors and reporters) acting surprised when the MILF leadership says that surrendering Kato and Bravo to the Govt Republic Philippines is off-limits? The MILF has consistently been saying for over ten years now that they do not consider themselves subjects of the Philippine Constitution and of the laws of the republic.
And Filipinos should also begin to pay grater attention to the differences among presidential wannabe’s as to their underlying principles and potential strategies on how to deal with the MILF (and also the MNLF).
For the MILF to surrender the two of their scalawag commanders, that is a tall order and without logic. To lay down their arms is another tall order. What the people in Malacanan are saying are very illogical. Anyway, they can always go back on their words and point out later its misquoted, or disavowed, or made out of context. Its nice to have some Ermita’s, Fajardo’s etc there to act as buffers in case there are bloopers.
Govt-Republic-Pinas uses VAT….where is the MILF getting money? Even at minimum wage, it costs big-time money to pay for tens of thousands of soldiers. What has the MILF promised to these benefactors in return?
25 August 2008
All I can saqy is pakanabits and shyet!!!! who is running which and what’s, Is there an internal struggles withing the coalition of the HOODS???
Pakanabits and shtet again!!!!! (sorry ellen) a lot of things are happening around and yet these MORONS are having a power struggle within their ranks.
Pakanabits and shyet again!!!
prans
Hi Ellen,
Just back from holiday.
It seems things have gotten worse for the Philippines since I last read about it.
Re: Ermita said, the fact that the MILF leadership admitted they have members who do not follow orders is “a tacit approval also for the government to run after them as common criminals.”
As a foxhole digger (who rose to star rank), he should have known that the MILF are common criminals — that he should only realise this today is proof that Ermita didn’t deserve to be a general.
Anna, welcome back. We missed you. You are right, things have gotten worse for the country. The sad part about it is that Filipinos have not yet gotten the urgency and the courage to put an end to this once and for all.
Filipinos do have the courage to talk and cry…but don’t have the courage to put them into action.
Now Ermita is pretending that the MILF gunmen, whom his military has been arming, were just sitting peacefully in the shade recently under banana tree, trying their hand at knitting or crocheting, when all of the sudden those bad Jihadist guys came up and started shooting,looting,burning houses of innocent civilians in Mindanao.The innocent civilians don’t deserve this.Their only sin was to be born in their own torn land,
These morons in Malacanang should remember the cliché “what goes around, comes around.” Nobody gets a free pass to sin against humanity. They see the callous disregard for death and suffering.
The Philippine defense forces is a joke and it is very stupid of Filipino politicians not do improve the military capabilities of their own country.It is not the lack of money that is the reason for this miserable state of our armed-forces but rather corruption and the stupidity of most Filipino politicians.The money is there but it lands in the the politicians’ and Generals’ pockets. They ought to be shot in Luneta or sent to sent to exile to set an example for future leaders. It is time for a change in our country-the sooner the better.Philippines may be the next Afganistan–and I don’t want that to happen.
Gloria has spent so many sleepless nights and millions of pesos in her “divide and conquer” strategy it’ll take a miracle to get the people or our opposition leaders to mount a decent campaign against her. Institutional check and balance is virtually non-existent. Her generals are very good at their jobs in suppressing or isolating any semblance of dissent (which is getting to be the requirement for promotion nowadays). Now even if we see them scurrying to and fro with apparently stupid lapses of judgments(?) they still seem to be very comfortable. Now why is this? Are they that confident that there’s nothing we can do about it?
All the dastardly acts of Gloria & her lap dogs have already angered the people, which has turned into hatred. That’s already a given. Maybe we just need a leader who will inspire the people to make the “change we can believe in” (with no intention to use an Obama by-line). When this happends, I can’t see why many will not go out into the streets & head towards Malacanan to bodily remove the squatter in a snap of a finger.
“We’re not setting down any conditions. We’re just appealing to the MILF leadership that hopefully there will be an environment that is conducive for the peace talks to resume. – Ermita
Am I getting this right? We are “appealing to the MILF?” Since when do we “appeal” not even negotiate with terrorists? Okay, so they’re not terrorists, what are they then, rebels? Oh, they’re not rebels, just a bunch of armed people who do not recognize the Philippine constitution? Oh, they’re a group of “special people” allowed to bear arms, say whatever they want about the government, kill innocent civilians and (which they later dismiss as the work of lost commands, an excuse which by the way has been used since way back 2003, probably even longer).
What can the MILF do wrong for this government to treat them the way they do “enemies of the state” like Trillanes, Gen. Lim, Col. Querubin, and others? Maybe instead of going on a killing spree they should just have announced a withdrawal of support or took over an expensive hotel (not just burning poor people’s houses and farms as these folks can’t mount an outrage protest or are not influential/affluent enough to warrant government protection).
So this Ermita, tough guy as he is, is “appealing” more like begging the MILF now? Again we ask, who made the MILF the representative of the muslims? Even that thought alone gives me shivers…I might stereotype muslims based on MILF standards…and so do a lot of people in Mindanao who are now unsure of their plight…
We do not lack politicians. If we were to weed out those whom we perceive to be good from those we see as bad, we can come up with a short list..
Just a thought..a People Power of sorts doesn’t have to happen in Metro Manila, it can even start in Mindanao.
But the Empire is in Metro Manila. The fake Queen is inside the Palace.
i hope those retired generals who had the principles should make their voices heard loud and clear. manindigan na rin sila.
Hi Ellen and all!
Glad to be back.
This Gloria treachery with the help of her subaleterns, i.e., ex military is is simply infuriating!
The bottom line is there can be no two parallel armies in a Republic. When a group of rebels that proclaims itself an army does that, there’s no two ways to deal with them: they should be decimated with the full force of the Republic’s military. Unfortunately, we don’t have that kind of military!
that’s what happen when we have a fake leader no one lesten everybody wants to run the show what can she do she’s protecting her sit to the throne even if our constitution is atstake
Pepito,
True and victorious troops with a cause do not need renumerations like the Vietcongs. Talibans, the JIs, the MILFs ,Abus and to go back in time, the Christian rebels. They just make do with what is around. I hate to say it but the other side are salary based and not necessarily fighting men.
Naive and myopic are those who think that signing the MOA-AD will lead to a lasting peace in Mindanao. Allowing the MILF to have its Bangsamoro Juridical Entity in which 75%
of the minerals and other resources in the acquired lands will go to its coffers and granting it the right to send missions to other nations is a folly. Once it has acquired military hardware like armored vehicles, howitzers as well
as naval and air crafts, it could declare independence and form an Islamic state in Mindanao.
As I and many others suspected, the ermita clique has met an almost equal force in the “puno the tree” clique. The ace of the puno clique is the fat boy pidal. The quarrel is all about power and money. The ermita clique almost faded into the background then suddenly ramos found his voice and has given ermita his marching orders. The internal feud will further escalate with puno showing off his power and clout in the Mindanao crisis.
Confusing signals are the order of the day in the palace by the pasig river. Even the senate is confused by the varying statements mouthed by mealy mouths fajardo, esperon, ermita, golez and the rest. If its by design or intent or just really plain stupidity we’re not sure. What I’m sure of is that we are being lead further into chaos and perdition by gloria etal.
Ermita and the rest of the palace subalterns are really good at obfuscation. Whenever the open their mouths and spray their spit while giving statements, the more they muddle the issues. Funny, but innocent people get hurt or are killed by their imprudent statements. Its criminal.
Anna, welcome back! Missed you.
I fully agree with those who say that the jumbled statements of Pandack Omama, Ermita, Puno, Lie Fajardo, etc. re MOA are intentional to make the public more confused and throw them off from the real issue…TREASON!
I join Chi in welcoming you back, Anna. So nice to see you back in Ellensville.
Hello Chi and Chabs!
Missed you too greatly. Really happy to be back among you at Ellenville!
Missed your input, Anna. Nice to see familiar names like that of By Ner in this blog. Bugbog sarado pihado dito si Gloria Dorobo, et al. Yehey!
Hi Yuko! Happy Birthday…
Ana
Welcome Back! Happy Birthday din sa iyo Yuko.baka sabay pa tayong mag birthday bukas.Ayos na ayos iyan dahil ikaw ang mgahahanda.Mahal ang bigas dito sa amin kahit bumaba na ang halaga ng gasolina.
Hello Cocoy’s Delight…
Thanks loads! Happy to be back. Hope things are well with you on the “restaurant” and all other fronts!
Happy Birthday, Yuko!
Happy Birthday, Cocoy!