Terra Plana surprised me with the Achilles today. They're pretty interested in what their test runners have to say about this unique running sandal. Yep, you read right; it's a SANDAL. First off, the Achilles is fully molded and seems to be made out of some soft plastic compound. It's comfortable to the foot and fairly flexible; more so than the Evo. It's not clear if it shares the same Kevlar sole of its older and more fashionable cousin, but I'd be concerned less with something puncturing the sole vs. small and sharp particles making their way under your feet since like any typical sandal, you really can't keep anything out.

Trying them on over my lunch break, I think the bit that will take some getting used to is the split-toe configuration. By design, a small pocket tucks your big toe in - barely. Then there are the removable straps which do an elegant job of anchoring foot and sandal. It still feels like a day at the beach for me though, but a couple of short runs will probably change my mind. Overall, I have to admit that the Achilles feels closer to real barefoot running than the FiveFingers KSO. No suprises there since it was reportedly inspired by the Tarahumara huaraches from "Born to Run".

The question is, can you actually run in these things on urban terrain? We'll see. I plan to use the Achilles for the HSBC 135 10k run in Bonifacio on November 6. I'll give my impressions after the race.

UPDATE: images removed for now. The Achilles prototype I used isn't final so the retail version will likely incorporate improvements based on feedback from Terra Plana's test runners.

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We took a walk after a short siesta then it was off to a nice Thai place for dinner with KR. Ryan had a gig that night so he missed out. Or we missed out since we were too stuffed to follow and watch the show.

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Welcome to our new "Home". Migration started yesterday and I've been able to import most of my old posts. I'm working on the posts of the others members now.

As I mentioned in my last email, all social networking features were removed in favor of our Facebook group which has more than 150 members now. I'm hoping for a little more activity this year, especially now that we're using the Posterous platform which is essentially blogging by email or mobile. Nothing could be simpler:

1. Type your entry using your preferred email app. Attach any pictures, audio, or video that you'd like to include.
2. Email it to Balay Drilon
3. Voila! Post magically appears on the site.

Send me a message on Facebook if you'd like to be a contributor. Include the email address that you'll be sending articles from.

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Well it was a prepared speech, so either P-NOY missed De Castro by
mistake, or protocol dictates that he doesn't have to greet former
VPs. Corona though, was intentional I think. Noynoy the candidate was
particularly incensed by the Chief Justice controversy. He promised to
scrutinize all midnight appointments, and high on that list is the CJ.
Early in the campaign, there was already talk that Malacanang would
railroad this one, but there was always hope that Corona would
exercise some prudence.

It was a frank, damning speech. I'm sure some parties sitting in the
grandstand were offended.

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Villafuerte’s resolution was “deceptive” when it vowed that the process would not:

• extend the terms of office of the President and the Vice President;
• the terms of other elective officials will not be extended;
• the terms of office of the 12 senators who were elected in 2007 for a six-year term ending in 2013 shall not be shortened and they shall be allowed to finish their terms; and
• that there shall be elections.

Of course, under the Kampi plan to install President Arroyo as prime minister after the 2010, all those four conditions will mean nothing. It is all a grand deception plan designed to install President Arroyo as prime minister even after the holding of the 2010 elections. This deceptive plan will pave the way for a Gloria Forever Constitution.

I agree with the statement of former Speaker Jose de Venecia that President Arroyo is the prime mover behind the plan to amend the 1987 Constitution and shift the form of government from presidential to parliamentary.

There have been persistent reports that during the birthday party of Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez, neophyte Congressmen were asked to sign the Villafuerte resolution in the presence of the President herself. Sometime during the last quarter of 2008, President Arroyo was also reported to have told a meeting of Senators in Malacanang that Charter Change must be implemented soon. The President was quoted to have said “kung hindi ngayon, kailan pa.”

Recall that I earlier called for vigilance against moves by the allies of the Arroyo government to carry out Charter changes through a constituent assembly minus the Senate. The move is illegal and unconstitutional and should be condemned by the public. Doing Charter Change at this time would only exacerbate present political instability and uncertainty.

Read more on Drilon news today:

Cha-Cha to install Arroyo as PM after 2010

Public urged to remain vigilant vs Cha-Cha moves

Define 'premature campaigning'

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The impeachment complaint filed by former Liberal Party President Jovito Salonga against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez merely reflected the Filipino people’s frustration over the Arroyo administration’s dismal failure to equally apply the law on everyone.

The ouster move initiated by Salonga and the Liberal Party also represented the people’s feelings against the unabated graft and corruption in government caused by the inaction and indifference shown by the Office of the Ombudsman under Merceditas Gutierrez.

The move merely reflected the Filipino people’s frustration over the Arroyo administration’s dismal failure to equally apply the law on everyone. The failure of Ombudsman Gutierrez to implement the equal protection of anti-graft laws has become a public outrage. In most graft cases, the rich and the influential are not charged for their wrongdoings.

We saw the LP admitting it was behind the moves to oust Gutierrez, but it also said that the impeachment complaint filed by several of its members was only part of the party’s “conspiracy" to rid the government of corrupt officials. The party said in a statement that it was calling the ouster move by its members as a “conspiracy for the welfare of the country, for clean governance, and against corruption in government."

We also saw on March 2 that some 31 civil society leader led by Salonga lodge an impeachment complaint against Gutierrez before the House of Representatives for allegedly failing to resolve high-profile cases on her sala.

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This I say after learning of moves to amend the 1987 Constitution—only the economic provisions—to amend only economic provisions could backfire and will only cause devastating negative effects on the national economy instead of improving it.

Due to the apparent poor credibility of the Arroyo administration in the business community, nobody will buy the excuse that only the economic provisions will be touched once the Malacanang Cha-Cha train takes off.

It is obvious that the primary motivation of Cha-Cha is the extension of President Arroyo’s term. No amount of sugarcoating or media spin can deodorize that self-serving objective.

Did I hear there was a move of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments that approved a resolution, sponsored by House Speaker Propero Nograles, scrapping foreign-ownership limits on corporations and lands as part of the congressmen’s initiative to amend the 1987 Constitution?

For the information of everyone, House Resolution 737 seeks to erase the constitutional provision limiting foreign ownership of a corporation to 40 percent and disallows foreign acquisition of both public and private lands. In relation to this, according to Nograles, enabling foreign corporations and associations to hold, acquire and in any manner be granted the right to possess and utilize lands in the Philippines is a strategic policy that could encourage more long-term foreign investments in the country.

If Malacanang continues to push the Nograles Cha-Cha resolution in the national agenda, it could trigger devastating consequences on the national economy, as it would give the impression that President Arroyo was succeeding in railroading it despite massive protests from the Filipino people.

Business leaders predict more political and financial instability that will trigger another wave of capital flight from disappointed foreign investors.

The negative impact of Charter Change could be enough to cripple the national economy in the first quarter of 2009 given the projected ill effects of the ongoing worldwide economic slowdown on Southeast Asia.

If this Malacanang-supported Nograles House resolution will dominate the national agenda, we can kiss our economic recovery programs goodbye. We must not underestimate the devastating effect of Malacanang’s self-serving exercise on the national economy that is already suffering from the effects of the current global financial crisis.

Makati business leaders fear that the renewed efforts to amend the Constitution will not help any in alleviating the country's flagging economy. I heard that Makati Business Club (MBC) Executive Director Alberto Lim said business leaders were wary that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's allies at the House of Representatives were moving to extend her term beyond 2010.

I had argued before that amending the Constitution was not the appropriate solution to resolve the current political and financial turmoil in the country. The proposed charter change would not eradicate corruption in government, which is the very root cause of the country's present problems. What we need is not a change in the system but a change in the character of the people in government.

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I have not come across an agreement where the violations of the Constitution are so brazen and reckless as what I have seen in the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) between the Government (GRP) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). In fact, the “Terms of Reference” and the entire MOA-AD cite numerous agreements, laws and international conventions, but omit any reference to the Philippine Constitution.

The MOA-AD contains the terms and conditions agreed upon by the GRP and the MILF on Ancestral Domain, or the Muslims’ historical claim over the Southern Philippines as their homeland, which was one of the three issues in the peace process under the 2001 Tripoli Agreement.

The most violent objection against the MOA-AD is the gross violation of the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of the Philippines. It creates a state, with all sovereign powers and institutions.

Under the MOA-AD “the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) shall be empowered to build, develop and maintain its own institutions, inclusive of, civil service, electoral, financial and banking, education, legislation, legal, economic, and police and internal security force, judicial system and correctional institutions, necessary for developing a progressive Bangsamoro society.”

The listing of institutions that the BJE can create is not exclusive. The BJE is empowered to build, develop and maintain other state institutions without limit.

The BJE shall have its own legislature whose laws will not be subject to national laws passed by Congress. The BJE shall also have its own courts whose decisions will not be reviewable by the Supreme Court. The most alarming and destructive power granted to the MILF is the power to “build, develop and maintain its own…police and internal security force,” in violation of express provisions of the Constitution.

BJE in UN, Asean

Moreover, the GRP recognized right of the BJE to enter into agreements with any friendly country and the option to establish and open trade missions in foreign countries with which it has economic cooperation agreements. The GRP is also under obligation to ensure BJE’s participation in ASEAN and the UN.

Under the MOA-AD, “it is the birthright of all Moros…to identify themselves as Bangsamoros”, a distinct people consisting of “those who are natives or original inhabitants of Mindanao … Palawan and the Sulu archipelago.”

The territory of the Bangsamoro homeland is well defined, referring to the “land mass as well as the maritime, terrestrial, fluvial and alluvial domains, and the aerial domain, the atmospheric space above it, embracing the Mindanao-Sulu-Palawan geographic region.”

The ownership of the Bangsamoro ancestral domain is vested exclusively in the Bangsamoro people, and such ancestral domain no longer forms part of the public domain, with the BJE given the power to revoke any such titles, permits, concessions and land tenure arrangements granted by the GRP.

The BJE shall have exclusive jurisdiction over internal waters extending 15 kms. from the coastline and shall exercise, with the GRP, joint jurisdiction over territorial waters consisting of our 200-mile economic zone.

Thus, the attributes of an independent and sovereign state, i.e. (a) government, (b) distinct territory, and (c) distinct people, are all present. The MOA-AD creates a Bangsomoro state within the Philippine territory. This is dangerous.

Groundwork for secession

There is a growing support for federalism as a means of empowering local governments. But the MOA-AD is not about federalism. It lays the groundwork for secession. We support the right of our Muslim brothers and sisters to self-determination, but this should not come at the expense of our country’s sovereignty and the integrity of our national territory.

Under the MOA-AD, the ARMM will be replaced by the BJE. The BJE is not one of the political units authorized to be created under the Constitution. The BJE will exercise powers much broader than an autonomous region. In fact, the BJE’s relationship with GRP is described as “associative”, a relationship appropriate only among sovereign nations.

The other dangerous aspect of the MOA-AD is the removal from the Philippine public domain of the Bangsamoro homeland, and vesting in the BJE exclusive ownership over its defined territory. As a consequence of that exclusive ownership over its Ancestral Domain, the BJE will exercise control and jurisdiction over all natural resources and potential sources of energy.

Under our Constitution, what MILF claims as ancestral land is part of the public domain where “all lands, waters, minerals, coal, petroleum and other mineral oils, all forces of potential energy and other natural resources are owned by the State.” Under the MOA, BJE would now be exclusive owner of such land.

The MOA-AD does not respect vested rights over private property, as it provides that “land tenure instruments of any kind or nature whatsoever granted by the Philippine Government shall continue to operate xx unless otherwise modified and or cancelled” by the BJE. This brazen disregard of vested rights is a flash point which can trigger conflict, not only between Christians and Muslims, but between Muslim and Lumads as well.

Not a mere scrap of paper

The wanton disregard of the Constitution in the MOA-AD is beyond dispute. But it is argued that its provisions shall come into force only “upon effecting the necessary changes in the legal framework”, which the defenders of the MOA-AD assert refers to amendments to the Constitution. To the Government, the MOA-AD is simply “a scrap of paper” and merely a listing of consensus points.

This is completely wrong and maliciously misleading. The MOA-AD had brought conflict and caused over 100 deaths. People do not kill and get killed for a mere scrap of paper.

Clearly in the eyes of the MILF, the MOA is both a legal and moral commitment on the part of the Government to implement its terms. A mere scrap of paper is not supposed to be signed in front of many international dignitaries in an elaborate ceremony, some of whom are endorsers or witnesses. The hollowness and falsity of this argument is belied by the actions on the ground. Perhaps the MOA is something else, but definitely not a scrap of paper.

Violation of separation of powers

It is also wrong to insist that the Executive Department can commit to amend the Constitution in an agreement with the MILF. Under Article XVII of the Constitution, the Executive Department has no role in the process of constitutional amendments.

Moreover, the GRP panel obligated itself that in “effecting the necessary changes to the legal framework,” the same must be done “with due regard to non-derogation of prior agreements.” This means that the President committed that any amendments to the Constitution must conform to the MOA-AD. The President cannot commit Congress, which has the power to propose amendments to the Constitution. It violated the principle of separation of powers.

We believe that a peace agreement should find a common ground to enable as many sectors to unite behind the agreement. The MOA-AD, instead of providing a common ground to unite us, caused division among our people.

I cannot believe that President Arroyo sincerely believed that the MOA-AD in its present form can achieve stability, unity and peace.

So what is her agenda?

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I deplored the “internationalization” of the Mindanao peace process. The “unwarranted intervention” of certain foreign countries was making it more difficult for the national government to resolve its “internal problem” with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

I had been receiving persistent reports that the intervention of some countries, including Malaysia and the United States, was putting “undue pressure” on government negotiators to grant concessions to the MILF that clearly violate the Philippine Constitution, such as the giving away of certain territories of the republic. We certainly do not want to happen to Mindanao what happened to Kosovo.

I am alarmed by the appeal of MILF Chairman Ebrahim Murad to the Malaysian government to revive the Mindanao peace talks that was stalled when MILF forces attacked unarmed civilians in Central Mindanao around the second week of August last year. Murad also asked that the military be stopped from pursuing the MILF forces involved in the atrocities. The MILF commanders reportedly attacked the civilians because the Supreme Court stopped the signing of the GRP-MILF Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain last Aug. 5.

I hope Malacanang will find the moral courage to send a diplomatic note to Malaysia, saying in no uncertain terms that that the Philippine government will implement its laws against criminals who attack and murder unarmed civilians. I am sure that the Malaysian government will understand and will not give the impression that it condones the unlawful acts of the MILF, especially the unprovoked killing of innocent civilians.

We urge our leaders to resolve this Mindanao conflict as an internal matter. The equitable solution to the Mindanao problem can be achieved only through honest and sincere consultations with the people of Mindanao, and not with foreign countries that obviously have other selfish interests to pursue in Mindanao.

The internationalization of the Mindanao peace process is against our national interests.

Let me tell you also about the offer of British Ambassador to the Philippines Peter Beckingham, who said his office was willing to bring politicians and officials from the United Kingdom (UK) to share with the Philippine government and the MILF how the Northern Ireland peace process had moved forward.

I have said that while we appreciate the generosity of the British ambassador, we regret to inform him that the case of Northern Ireland is the wrong model for the Mindanao Peace Process.

Allow me to remind you that during the UK-Ireland peace negotiations, it was established that the Irish Kingdom was already a strong independent monarchy for centuries before it was forcibly annexed by the English Kings. Ireland was already a state with strong ties with papal states until 150 years ago. Mindanao has always been part of the Republic of the Philippines ever since it was established. We must find our own model.

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GMA should immediately fire Martinez to save SEC credibility.

I urge President Arroyo to immediately fire Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Jesus Martinez Jr. and not allow him to continue discharging his functions, even on a holdover capacity, “in order to salvage whatever is left of the Filipino people’s trust on the SEC.”

Martinez, who was alleged to have received bribes from distressed pre-need Legacy Group, was scheduled to retire on Thursday, March 12, but may continue to serve on a holdover capacity unless his replacement was immediately named by Malacanang.

President Arroyo should not reappoint Commissioner Martinez and Martinez should immediately relinquish his position if only to salvage the credibility of the SEC. There is prima facie evidence that Martinez received bribes from the Legacy Group in violation of the anti-graft law.

SEC Chairman Fe Barin “should take the initiative not to allow Martinez to continue discharging his functions even in a holdover capacity because he had committed a criminal act and has tainted the image of the commission.

Commissioner Martinez’s term has expired and there is no basis for him to go on leave unless President Arroyo reappoints him on a holdover capacity. What Malacanang should do is to throw the book at Martinez and his cohorts and direct the Office of the Ombudsman to file graft charges against them.

I was outraged by the statement of Barin that despite being linked to the Legacy firm’s fund mess, Martinez may still have his term of office extended.

While it was true that as a matter of practice the SEC allows commissioners whose terms have expired to continue serving in a holdover capacity, the same practice should not apply to Martinez’s case.

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The Arroyo administration is guilty of "double speak" on the issue of charter change. The deceitful moves of Malacañang and its allies only reinforce suspicions that the exercise is intended to extend the president's stay in power beyond 2010.

While President Arroyo appears to be no longer be interested in pushing for Charter Change and extending her term, her eldest son, Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo, was spearheading a signature campaign in the House of Representatives to amend the 1987 Constitution through a constituent assembly.

The double speak of Malacañang on the issue to Charter Change is too obvious to ignore. It is now clear to most Filipinos that despite her patent unpopularity, President Arroyo has not given up on the prospects of extending her stay in power until after 2010.

This relentless presidential desire to stay in power appears to be the principal motivation behind the deceitful moves to amend the Constitution even if it would mean sacrificing the tradition democratic institutions of our country.

Let me reiterate that pushing for Charter Change at this time would have a devastating effect on the national economy that is already suffering from the effects on the ongoing global financial crisis.

Makati business leaders have expressed fears over Malacañang's renewed efforts to amend the Constitution, which they said would not help any in alleviating the country's flagging economy.

The proposed charter change will not eradicate corruption in government which is the very root cause of the country's present problems. What we need is not a change in the system but a change in the character of the people in government.

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Despite the expected protestation from Malacanang and its cronies in Congress, there is a clear justification for the Senate to immediately reopen its investigation into the P728-million fertilizer fund scam allegedly engineered by former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante, now the most famous wheelchair-bound balikbayan in the country.

Our legislators should be reminded that under the proposed 2009 national budget, the Department of Agriculture, which has been mired in big-budget irregularities under the Arroyo government, was again given a P7 billion allocation under the same Ginintuang Masagana Ani (Golden Bountiful Harvest) Program (GMA), which includes a funding of P3.3 billion for fertilizers.

Unless the Senate gets into the bottom of this fertilizer scam and determines the extent of the corruption, as well as the role of Bolante and his patrons --particularly President Arroyo herself and First Gentleman Mike Arroyo -- this stinking fraud can very well happen again when the P1.4 trillion 2009 General Appropriations Act is approved by Congress and signed into law by the President.

Hard as it may to believe, everything is possible under the Arroyo administration, even the prospect of lightning striking twice.

It will be recalled that findings made by the Senate Blue Ribbon and Agriculture committees during the 13th Congress on the fertilizer scam was a mere “interim report” since the probe was not able to determine what really happened to the P2.806 billion fund disbursed by the Department of the Agriculture (DA) during the election period in 2004. Of the amount, P728 million belonged to the so-called GMA fertilizer fund.

A close scrutiny of the draft 2009 national budget submitted by Malacanang will indicate that the same GMA fertilizer fund appropriation was included as one of the items in the P13-billion pork barrel funds of the president.

The Committee investigation report of Sen. Ramon Magsaysay showed that a total of P2.806 billion was released by the Bolante during the 2004 presidential elections, of which P728 million belonged to the fertilizer fund.

The Senate will still have to find out what happened to the P2.806 billion considering that the same amount under the same controversial; food program called Ginintuang Masagana Ani (GMA) has been inserted in the proposed 2009 national budget.

Recall that the Senate probe in 2006 discovered that the P728 million fund was just a portion of the Larger Fertilizer Fund released during the 2004 elections. The DA received P2.806 billion for the purchase of farm inputs and implements before the 10 May 2004 elections, he noted.

We all know that because of Bolante's sudden departure for the United States, the Senate was not able to complete its investigation on the fertilizer scam. Now that he is back and under the custody of the Senate, Bolante should be compelled to explain the fertilizer fund mess before the Senate because the Filipino people are entitled to know the truth.

The citation for contempt signed by 21 Senators during the 13th Congress that I headed as Senate President and the arrest warrant against Bolante were issued to protect and uphold the dignity of the Senate as an institution of democracy. It was adopted by the entire Senate and not just by Magsaysay’s agriculture committee.

The citation for contempt and the arrest warrant did not lose its effectivity with the expiration of the 13th Congress so long as Bolante has not rid himself of the contemptuous conduct. That warrant of arrest will be effective unless quashed or restrained by the Supreme Court.

According to the Magsaysay report, fertilizer fund appropriation was questionably disbursed during the 2004 election season and funds were released from February to May 2004 or during harvest months when fertilizers are of no use because planting time starts in November.

Investigation revealed that fertilizers used were actually liquid fertilizers known as foliar, normally used for ornamental plants and flowers and anything leafy but not usually used for rice or corn.

The Senate report also recommended the filing of criminal and administrative charges against Bolante, Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo, Undersecretary Ibarra Poliquit, Undersecretary Belinda Gonzales, Assistant Secretary Jose Felix Montes, and all DA regional directors who participated in the fertilizer scam.

During the congressional inquiry, Commission on Audit (COA) submitted documents showing that more than 100 House of Representatives members, 53 governors and 26 town mayors received between P3 million and P10 million each in fertilizer funds from the agriculture department shortly before the May 2004 elections.

A lot of questions still beg to be answered in this fertilizer fund scam. These questions must be answers and if needed, those who violated then law must be held accountable and charged in court. Otherwise, the same fraud will happen again and again.

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I denounce Malacanang’s "blatant abuse of discretion in the exercise of executive clemency" in the controversial release of convicted murderer Claudio Teehankee Jr.

I express alarm over the abuse of discretion showed by President Arroyo when she disregarded the rules in the application of executive clemency in the Teehankee case. Just a bit of information, I led the justice department as secretary in the prosecution of Teehankee in 1991.

Claudio Teehankee Jr. walked out of prison in the dead of the night on October 3, because he had access to power, because he had access to President Arroyo and Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales. It only proved once again that under the Arroyo administration, the rich and the privileged always get the upper hand.

We have witnessed once again that under this administration there is no such thing as the equal application of the law, regardless of whether you are rich or poor.

There was apparent lack of transparency in the granting of executive clemency to Teehankee, as under existing rules, the names of convicts seeking clemency should have been published to give the families of the victims, the opportunity to object.

In this case no announcement was made since the families of the Teehankee victims were not informed nor consulted about the convict’s release on that day.

The Board of Pardons and Parole should make a publication prior to the release, so that families of the convict’s victims can have the opportunity to object.

I am saddened. The public loses its trust on the Arroyo administration because to them, the administration of justice is not fair. President Arroyo’s executive clemency only shows that her administration favors the rich and the influential.

To me, Mr. Teehankee should not have been given executive clemency because he murdered an innocent young woman. When I was Justice Secretary, we made sure that Mr. Teehankee will be convicted because people need to know that everyone is equal before the law.

(I also led the prosecution of high profile cases that led to conviction of businessman Rolito Go and Calauan Mayor Antonio Sanchez. Teehankee was convicted for the 1991 murders of 16-year-old Maureen Hultman and 21-year-old Roland John Chapman.)

With Teehankee’s release, I call on Malacanang to also grant clemency to other qualified convicts even if they are poor and do not come from influential families. I support calls for the Department of Justice to publicize an inventory of convicts in heinous crimes who were granted parole, with emphasis on their social status.

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I, together with Adel Tamano, petitioned the Supreme Court to bar permanently the Philippine panel from entering into an agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), because the proposed pact was in gross violation of the 1987 Constitution.

In the “Petition-in-Intervention,” we filed on August 11, 2009, we asked the High Tribunal to render a decision prohibiting and permanently enjoining the Respondents from further signing, executing, entering into, proceeding or implementing the terms of the MOA or any other agreement with terms similar to the MOA.

Our petition was also in support of an earlier petition filed by North Cotabato Gov. Jesus Sacdalan and Vice Gov. Manuel Pinol and Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat, Reps. Erico Basilio Fabian and Isabelle Climaco which sought to nullify the proposed GRP-MILF Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on Ancestral Domain.

The MOA was supposed to have been signed by the two panels last Aug. 5 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia but was stopped by a temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the Supreme Court. Named as respondents in the case were Secretary Rodolfo Garcia, Leah Armamento, Sedfrey Candelaria, Mark Ryan Sullivan, members of the Philippine panel in the Mindanao peace talks, and Hergemoges Esperon, Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.

The petition-in-intervention we filed before the SC was the appropriate remedy to raise constitutional issues, in addition to the right of the public to information and public consultation, to support the overwhelming national clamor to junk this blatantly unconstitutional agreement between the GRP and the MILF.

Secretary Garcia and Esperon, who are poised to sign the MOA and who have, in fact, initialed and signified their consent to the same, acted without jurisdiction and beyond the framework of the Constitution. They also gravely abused and exceeded their authority and discretion in negotiating and finalizing the terms of the MOA which are patently unconstitutional, manifestly illegal and contrary to the fundamental law of the land.

I was compelled to raise the Constitutionality of the MOA since the earlier Supreme Court petitions only raised the issue of “non-consultation with the public.

This was understandable because when the North Cotabato officials filed their petition, they were not yet given a copy of the MOA. Thus, their lawyers were unable to question the unconstitutionality of its provisions. Unless permanently barred by the court, we said that the members of the GRP panel would be acting beyond their constitutional authority and jurisdiction and represents a grave abuse of discretion amounting to a lack of jurisdiction.

Our interest in the case was material and direct. “The MOA is blatantly injurious to Intervenors who are citizens of the Republic of the Philippines, eroding, as it does, the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Philippine state,” we wrote in our petition.

We also wrote in the petition that in view of the transcendental importance and impact of the MOA to the entire Philippine nation and the paramount public interest involved, adequate and speedy recourse may be had only through this Honorable Court and Intervenors have no appeal or any other plain, speedy and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law.

In this controversy, we said the Supreme Court can serve as the “final arbiter of all constitutional issues,” and must nullify GRP panel’s “acts of negotiating and agreeing to the terms of the MOA and to prohibit them from signing the same as it manifestly violates the Constitution and is contrary to law and public policy”… “The peace panel exercised powers beyond its constitutional authority, effectively ceding the entire Muslim-Palawan-Sulu geographical territory to the MILF and creating within that region a State separate and distinct from the Republic of the Philippines.”

We also noted that it was necessary for the Supreme Court to promptly exercise its mandate and confront the significant constitutional issues involved considering that, except for the formality of actual signing of the MOA, the MILF has repeatedly asserted that the MOA constitutes a binding agreement or a “done deal.”

“To countenance Respondents’ acts even at this stage would create a dangerous precedent, since it would allow them to conveniently bind itself to other unconstitutional agreements in the future, on the excuse that such agreements are still subject to further acts by the other branches of government”…“This Honorable Court will, therefore, never have any opportunity to pass upon the constitutionality of any agreement entered into by the Respondents. At this stage of the peace process with the MILF, the Respondents should not be allowed to constantly negotiate an agreement beyond its constitutionally delimited authority and agree to the terms and conditions thereof which are patently unconstitutional.”

In the petition, we also cited the following legal grounds:

• The terms of the MOA infringe on the Constitution; the MOA was contrary to law; the MOA is contrary to public policy. It requires that the Constitution and the laws follow and conform to its terms. The MOA also deprives the Supreme Court from exercising its constitutional duty to review the acts of the executive; The MOA violates the doctrine of separation of powers. It sets out policies which are within the exclusive jurisdiction and constitutional competence of Congress.
• The Peace Panel should be prohibited from entering into the MOA creating the Bangsamoro Homeland and establishing the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) because the creation of the Bangsamoro homeland and the BJE is not authorized under the Constitution. The Peace Panel should be prohibited from entering into an agreement creating the BJE as a state separate and distinct from the Republic of the Philippines.
• The Peace Panel should be prohibited from conceding and surrendering to the BJE the territorial integrity of the state, ownership and use of natural resources, the conduct of diplomatic or trade relations and part of its executive power.

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I warn Malacanang not to sign the GRP-MILF Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain. President Arroyo will be committing an impeachable offense since the agreement constitutes a gross violation of the 1987 Constitution.

No doubt, Presidential Adviser to the Peace Process Hermogenes Esperon Jr and RP Panel Chair Rodolfo Garcia will be signing the agreement only upon the authority and orders of President Arroyo.

The MoA clearly violates the 1987 Constitution because it grants the so-called Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) a status of belligerency, which is a step closer to granting it international recognition as a separate and independent state. It will reportedly authorize the BJE to sign trade pacts, friendship treaties and other international agreements with foreign countries and send representatives to ASEAN and the United Nations. Moreover, the Terms of Reference cites the UN Charter, the UN Universal Declaration on Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law (IHL), which only sovereign states can be party to.

Further, the MoA unconstitutionally surrenders Philippine government authority over exploitation of natural resources, such as oil exploration, as the Bangsamoro territory no longer forms part of the national public domain.

Further, you cannot divide sovereignty, which the MoA provides for when it allows BJE to exercise shared authority and responsibility with the Philippine government over the Bangsamoro homeland.

While I have always supported the peace process in Mindanao, I maintain that any agreement should be within the boundaries of the present Constitution. This MoA goes beyond the constitutional parameters and boundaries, which provides only for autonomous regions. I am for the granting of full and genuine authority to the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) but the process should not violate the Constitution.

To say that we need to amend the Constitution for this MoA only lends credence to allegations that the Arroyo administration intends to unscrupulously exploit the Mindanao peace process in its relentless bid to amend the 1987 Constitution and pave the way to extend President Arroyo’s stay in power beyond 2010.

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Once again, I'd like to invite members to contribute posts and articles to the site because I sometimes feel like I'm talking to myself. It's simple: just click on the "+ Add Blog Post" link at the bottom of this page. For the bloggers among us, please feel free to simply mirror your most recent entries here. Traffic stats are fantastic for the Drilon.com front page, so if you want to get read, use this site to promote your own personal pages.

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Early indications point to a short in a high-volume wire conduit which prevented automatic activation of the backup generators. This is a significant outage, impacting approximately 9,000 servers servicing customers from all over the world. Based on the current assessment, our provider hopes to restore partial service by Monday evening. Rest assured they are working around the clock in multiple deployments to restore service as soon as possible.

How does this affect us? While our email is managed through Google, our DNS is hosted in this particular data center in Houston. You can access your mailboxes but any messages sent to you after yesterday's incident will be delayed until service is completely restored. You can however, send mail normally.

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