UP Ibalon Bicol: MILF peace agreement

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Government calls for MILF ceasefire before GMA’s SONA

7/23/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post

In a waxing and waning way of handling the Mindanao separatist movement, the Philippine government again suspended its military offensive against the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF,) about 5 days before Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo delivers her state of the nation address (SONA) on July 27, 2009.

Spokesmen from the administration are ecstatic over the ceasefire which they believe will allow about 300,000 civilians to return home to their farms.

But the heavily unpopular president with a poor approval rating was quickly criticized for using the ceasefire to prop up her image---- that her handling of the decades-old Mindanao rebellion had significant gains and in the right direction.

To air their grievances, a 15,000-strong protest-rally are being readied by oppositionists from Manila and other provinces to complain against President Arroyo's final State of the Nation Address (SONA).

“It’s all media-hype. I’m sure her decision will not change the situation in Mindanao. Undoubtedly, she is creating a situation that is favorable to her SONA," Political analyst Ramon Casiple, executive director of the non-government Institute for Political and Electoral Reform. GMANews.TV (07/23/09)

Many observers in the protracted peace process are cynical about the outcome of the conflict. The question of sincerity hangs. They see the same pattern of political maneuvers and hollow claims of peace gains that aren’t far from why the Israel-Palestinian problem has not been resolved for many decades. (Photo Credit: Manolet Santiago/ Malaya) =0=

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Labels: ceasefire, GMA, MILF, MILF peace agreement, military, Mindanao, Mindanao conflict, politics, Pres. Gloria Arroyo, protest, rally, SONA, Totie Mesia

A Golf Course Mauling And A Star-Crossed Appointment

12/30/2008 | Posted by myty555 | Edit Post

A Christmas season mauling in a golf club courtesy of a powerful political family. That hugged the front pages and the blogs these previous days.

I say this incident is the most famous (or infamous) mauling incident in a long time. And thanks to the internet, individuals have a new means in voicing their opinions. Hopefully this is the start of a way of checking abuses of public officials on the personal level. I am lucid enough to realize that the Net is not yet a way of checking official corruption because it has to go through the "legal process" and in the Philippines that is almost synomymous to a whitewash especially with the current Ombudsman.

If the son of DAR Secretary Nasser Pangandaman was the one who led the mauling he should be suspended from his position, if he is indeed a municipal mayor. I think the provincial governor of Lanao del Sur has the right and duty to do so because disciplining mayors is part of the job of the governor. But knowing Lanao del Sur politics and culture I say that is not a simple matter. That will probably be taken by the Pangandamans as a slap in the face and in that land confrontations emanating from this kind readily jumps above the verbal kind.

I hope the incident is resolved through the vaunted "legal process" and not settled through an "apology" or "compensation". For how will be teach public officials that they are also accountable like ordinary citizens and not above the law?

If Secretary Pangandaman has any delicadeza he should by now tender his resignation. But I thought delicadeza is a Spanish word and concept. I have yet to see if this concept is not alien to the DAR Secretary.

A grave lapse of judgment on his part, I say. I remember that when he was appointed to the Cabinet there were gasps of disbelief in Lanao. But to the credit of the Secretary, most will probably concede that by the standards of an Arroyo cabinet he probably did a decent job and he was able to avoid controversy unlike the other cabinet secretaries.

He was recently appointed as the chief peace adviser to the President regarding the stalled peace agreement with the MILF. I say he is probably qualified for that post because he is in a position to look at both sides of the divide and he probably has a realistic assessment of the Mindanao situation.

But he should not have accepted it. It seems he didn't realize that persons appointed to that double-crossed process are always star-crossed. And next time he should be more careful in venturing out to a gulpe club.

Labels: chief peace adviser, DAR Secretary, delicadeza, golf club mauling, Lanao del Sur, MILF peace agreement, ombudsman, Pangandaman, star-crossed appointment

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Government calls for MILF ceasefire before GMA’s SONA

A Golf Course Mauling And A Star-Crossed Appointment

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