Mindanao – Page 6 – ellen tordesillas

The road map to war

Published by Ellen on August 22, 2008

What the hell is going on?

At the Supreme Court hearing yesterday on the petition to permanently stop the government from signing the memorandum agreement on ancestral domain with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, chief government negotiator Rodolfo Garcia said he had no authority from President Arroyo to sign an agreement on behalf of the government.

All he had, he said, was his original authority to negotiate.

What was he doing then in Kuala Lumpur for the scheduled signing ceremony on August 5 (the signing was TROed by the Supreme Court on August 4)? The Malaysian hosts had prepared an elaborate stage where Garcia and his MILF counterparts were supposed to sign the document. Set to stand as witnesses were a Malaysian cabinet official, representatives of the Organization of Islamic Conference and ambassadors of a number of Islamic countries. Even US Ambassador Kristie Kenney was there for what was touted as a “historic” milestone in the march toward lasting peace in Mindanao.

Nobody’s listening to Arroyo

Published by Ellen on August 21, 2008

Gloria Arroyo has lost control. She should re-sign.

She has lost control not only of herself (look up her throwing tantrum video last Monday in YouTube) but also of the government.

She should resign to spare the country further destruction, not only in terms of loss of lives but damage to democratic institutions.

Calls for Arroyo to resign are nothing new ever since the “Hello Garci” tapes surfaced which exposed her to have masterminded cheating in the 2004 elections. But she has effectively placated her political adversaries. This time, however, she has expended her political capital. Derided by majority of Filipinos, Arroyo’s words have no value.

Even MILF spokesman Mohagher Iqbal is not taking her seriously.

Blood in Gloria Arroyo’s hands

Published by Ellen on August 19, 2008

After throwing a tantrum because the teleprompter was not ready, Gloria Arroyo told the Filipino people Monday, “Because of this sneaky and treacherous attack , as your commander-in-chief, I have ordered the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police to defend every inch of Philippine territory against MILF forces, and Immediately restore peace in the affected areas in Lanao de Norte.”

It would have been funny if not for the more than 30 lives that were lost and more than 60,000 people who have been rendered homeless.

It would have been funny because if not for the temporary restraining order by the Supreme Court, Arroyo would have given away more than 700 barangays in addition to Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, and Marawi city that compose the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao to the MILF.

A military officer said Arroyo’s statement on the MILF attacks is a “classic example of the arsonist who acted as fireman at the expense of poor household owners.”

War in Mindanao

Published by Ellen on August 18, 2008

Update from GMANews: Death toll in MILK attacks rises to more than 30.

From: Inquirer.net

At least 21 people have been killed and many others were wounded in attacks carried out in Lanao del Norte and Saranggani provinces by the members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front that have since fled and were being pursued by troops, officials said Monday.

The Moro rebels, under the leadership of Commanders Bravo and Pangalian of the 102nd and 103rd brigade commands respectively, held ambuscades in several towns in these provinces, a week after the military flushed out their comrades under the command of Umbra Kato in North Cotabato province.

Chief Superintendent Nicanor Bartolome, PNP spokesman, said 21 people — seven still unidentified farmers of Barangay (village) Tapu, two civilians identified as Ricardo Gil and Ricky Salidad, and four other unidentified civilians were killed. The rest were soldiers
and militiamen.

The Cha-cha option

Published by Ellen on August 14, 2008

We all knew that Gloria Arroyo has no plans of giving up her stolen presidency but her temerity last Monday pushing for a shift to federal system of government, followed up by her press secretary, Jesus Dureza, left us flabbergasted.

A friend pointed out to us that Arroyo actually announced it last July 29 in her state- of -the -nation address but we were too busy with VAT and the 50 centavos text (which turned out to be a big lie).

Bentahan ng Mindanao

Published by Ellen on August 13, 2008

Natanggap ko itong text ni Atty. Adel Tamano:

“I have received death threats via text messages because of my stand on the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) on Ancestral Domain. Some persons who claim to be Muslim have declared me as persona non grata and deserving of scorn or even death merely because I am a Muslim and yet I protested against the MoA for being unconstitutional and excluding other stakeholders.

“While I respect everyone’s right to criticize, the threat of violence because of differences in opinion has no place in a democracy. Finally, Islam comes from the root word salaam which means peace and it is my hope that we can all debate on the MoA in a spirit of peace, respect, and brotherhood.”

Hijacking the Muslim cause

Published by Ellen on August 12, 2008

The gall!

As residents of Pigkawayan in North Cotabato scamper from the raging war triggered by her hijacking of the peace agreement between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to push her own agenda of charter change, Gloria Arroyo pushes a shift to a federal system of government.

“We advocate federalism as a way to ensure long-lasting peace in Mindanao,” Gloria Arroyo said in a toast to visiting Swiss President Pascal Couchepin Thursday.

The US role in pact with MILF

Published by Ellen on August 10, 2008

In the controversy surrounding the Memorandum of Agreement between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, many are concerned about the undue interest of the United States as shown by the presence of Ambassador Kristie Kenney in Kuala Lumpur in the aborted signing of the MOA.

It must be mentioned that Kenny was not the only non-Filipino diplomat in KL for the MOA signing. Ambassador Sayed ElMasry, adviser to Organization of Islamic Conference secretary general and special envoy for peace process in Southern Philippines was there. So were the ambassadors of Australia and Japan to the Philippines.

This early, MILF is talking about US military bases in BJE

Published by Ellen on August 10, 2008

US, Philippines weigh new military marriage
Asian Times

By Fabio Scarpello

COTABATO CITY, Southern Philippines – More than 15 years after the US was forced to close its military bases in the Philippines by nationalist politicians, there are growing indications that Washington is angling to re-establish a permanent military presence here – though US diplomats strenuously deny the speculation.

The United States’ behind-the-scenes role in mediating a peace deal between the Philippine government and a group of Islamic rebels and its assistance to the Philippine armed forces in chasing down another rebellious Islamic organization has, for many Filipinos, lent credence to growing speculation that the US has designs on establishing new bases on the country’s southern island of Mindanao.

Esperon should stay

Published by Ellen on August 7, 2008

I vehemently oppose the call of Senators Rodolfo Biazon and Mar Roxas and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay for former Armed Forces Chief Hermogenes Esperon to resign as presidential adviser for the peace process.

Esperon should stay. He is doing the country a favor by fueling the people’s anger towards Arroyo’s illegitimate presidency. He may yet galvanize the people into action to end Arroyo’s illegitimate presidency, something that “Hello Garci”, NBN/ZTE and other scandals failed to do.

Category: Mindanao