Of course, the petition would have carried more weight if it were the government seeking international intervention for its people, which should be the case because the government exists for its people.
In fact, it is in the Constitution’s Declaration of Principles and State Policies that (Art. II, Sec. 4) The prime duty of the Government is to serve and protect the people.”
Fleeing residents of Tanjung Labian flee their village in the area where Filipino gunmen are locked in a stand off with Malaysian security forces in Sabah state on March 10-2013. AFP-News Mohd Rasfan. From Yahoo.
In the press conference of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima in Malacañang yesterday on the arrest of 35 armed men from Sabah, she was asked why the government is quick on acting against the people associated with the Lahad Datu standoff and is not acting on reports on maltreatment by Malaysians of Filipinos in Sabah.
De Lima justified the glaring difference in their reactions to the fact the armed men believed to be members of the Royal Security Force of the Sultan of Sulu were intercepted by the Philippine Navy in the high seas of Tawi-Tawi with firearms and deadly weapons which is a violation of the Comelec gun ban.
She skipped the second part of the question and the reporter did not follow it up.
Reliable information we got from Malacañang explains why De Lima, formerly chairperson of the Human Rights Commission, kept quiet on the issue of gross human rights violations by Malaysia against Filipinos in Sabah.
Malaysia treats the Philippines like dirt and Malacañang takes it with hardly a whimper.
News reports relate the harrowing experience of Filipinos under the hands of Malaysian security forces who are conducting a sweep of the Sabah to capture the forces of Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram, younger brother of Jamalul Kiram III and one of the heirs of the Sultan of Sulu, who was given Sabah by the Sultan of Brunei in 1878 as a reward for helping suppress a revolt.
Sabah became part of Malaysia as a result of questionable decisions by a British company and the United Kingdom.
A report by Inquirer’s Julie Alipala and Karlos Manlupig quoted 32-year old Amira Taradji, one of those who fled Sabah last week, as saying, “We’re treated like animals.”
The statement said, “The Secretary-General is closely following the situation in Sabah, Malaysia. He urges an end to the violence and encourages dialogue among all the parties for a peaceful resolution of the situation.
“The Secretary-General expresses concern about the impact this situation may have on the civilian population, including migrants in the region. He urges all parties to facilitate delivery of humanitarian assistance and act in full respect of international human rights norms and standards.”
A tearful Kiram III immediately ordered a unilateral ceasefire to his forces in Lahad Datu, Sabah led by his younger brother, Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram.
CCM continues to be vigilant in demanding good governance from elected officials regardless of personalities.
CCM is gravely concerned about the way the Aquino government is handling the crisis involving Filipinos in Lahad Datu, Sabah. Following is CCM’s statement:
“Let’s not even talk of the Philippine title to Sabah which the P-Noy administration is apparently still studying. Let’s just talk about basic obligations, and not just privileges of states.
God forbid, but what a members of your family are killed and someone comes during the wake and blames you for the tragedy, what would you do?
Answers of close friends I asked ranged from a tempered reaction of showing the rude person the door to violent acts including use of a tool that is banned during this election campaign period.
That must be the feeling of relatives of the 12 Filipinos who were killed in Lahad Datu, Sabah when Malaysian commandoes assaulted the place where some 200 followers of the Sultan of Sulu, led by his brother Rajah Muda Agbimuddin Kiram, were camping out. Two of the commandoes were also killed, according to news reports.
Agbimuddin Kiram and his followers arrived in Lahad Datu Feb. 12 to re-affirm their ownership of a large part of Sabah which Malaysia is renting from them for a pittance.
Reports said Malacañang suspects the national security adviser of Gloria Arroyo, Norberto Gonzales, as behind the sabotage.
It is easily believable because Gonzales has deep network in Muslim Mindanao and is close to Nur Misuari, the leader of another disgruntled group, the Moro National Liberation Front.
Gonzales and Misuari’s partnership go back a long way to their special operations training days in Malaysia during the 1960’s.
When Misuari staged a rebellion in 2001. Gonzales was known to have exerted influence to allow the former governor of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao to be placed under house arrest. The case was eventually dismissed.
There are intelligence reports that Gonzales and his Jesuit priest friend have been meeting with some sectoral leaders and talking about “a revolutionary situation” under Aquino.
“It is a sad commnetary on the Philippines if our own nationals should run to the UN because their government cannot protect their rights. This is not the spectacle our country wants to portray to the international community.
“It is now urgent to cease to be “confused” and move and act decisively. Time to end the Kabuki play on Sabah.”
THE President has gone on TV appealing and at the same time chastising the Sultan of Sulu over the standoff in Lahad Datu in Sabah.
The next few days will tell the wisdom of doing it in public. His statements and actions give the unintended consequence of leaning on our own nationals over a foreign power. We may be playing into Malaysia’s hands who has been adopting a studied but cavalier attitude over the standoff. They are exercising acts of “effectivités” over Sabah during this standoff by their actions and even by their silence over our naive pronouncements.
“Effectivités” in a territorial dispute between countries gives weight to actual and continued exercise of authority over a territory. This is the basis of the International Court of Justice ’s 2002 decision on the Ligatan Sipadan case where the court awarded the area to Malaysia over Indonesia. Also the same principle in the case between Chile and Peru and between Nicaragua and Guatemala.
“Sagot ko: Ambot… baka ang Malaysian PM. From the tone and the content would show that he/she is either Malaysian or Malaysian-Philippine.”
In his statement, which came on the second week of the standoff in Lahad Datu, a seaside village in Sabah, President Aquino several times spoke of peace. Yet, the language he used reeks of arrogance that could only come from ignorance of the root of the issue.
Bizarre indeed. The Philippines claims ownership of Sabah based on the title of the Sultan of Sulu on the territory. The heirs of Sultan of Sulu who obtained the land are taking possession of a portion of the area. The Philippine government said it has nothing to with the the action of the heirs.
The reaction of the Philippine government is bizarre if one takes it from the presumption that the Philippines is not abandoning its claim over Sabah.
But if there’s one thing that this “bizarre” incident has made clear, the Philippines is no longer interested to pursue its claim over Sabah.