Arroyo can be impeached for pact with MILF - Ople

Opposition Senator Blas Ople has said President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo can be impeached for ordering the signing of an agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which, among others, "allows the return of previously overrun camps" to the separatist group.

Describing the President's order as "treacherous," Ople, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, said the signing of the agreement "could be construed as an act of treason," an impeachable offence. "Returning MILF camps is an act of betrayal to some 500 Filipino soldiers who lost their lives in the recovery of the rebel camps," said Ople.

Press Secretary Silvestre Afable Jr., reacting to Ople's statement, said the opposition had gone overboard in saying Arroyo could be impeached over the perceived sell-out of government interest to the MILF. "The President has not violated any provisions in the Constitution or has acted against, or has acted in betrayal of public interest," he said.

Afable said the only goal in inking the accord, described as a "confidence-building measure" by Manila, was to prevent further violence in southern Philippines.

Norberto Gonzales, Arroyo's Adviser for Special Concerns, signed on May 7 an agreement with the MILF to rehabilitate areas damaged by the decades-old conflict in Mindanao.

The pact, one among several such confidence-building measures in a prelude to a final political settlement, was signed in Malaysia and was the product of so-called "back-channeling" negotiations after the President dropped formal, high-profile negotiations with the southern-Philippines based separatists.

Back channeling meant concerned officials, the military and the legislature, were kept in the dark over the negotiations and the sudden announcement of the pact in May 7 came as a surprise to members of the House of Representatives and senators like Ople.

Among the salient features of the pact was allowing the MILF to return to their former strongholds in Central and Southern Mindanao and allowing the rebels to disburse funds for the rehabilitation of war-damaged areas.

Critics said such an agreement was tantamount to giving the rebels reparation and according them beleaguered status which could aid the separatist cause.

But Afable, during yesterday's interview, said these issues were never mentioned on the talks and that the opposition was merely interpreting on their own the provisions of the accord.

Afable said that as a result of the rehabilitation accord, both the government and the MILF are keen to continue negotiations on a more formal level. "I hope the formal peace negotiations resume soon. I am sure the government will try to take advantage of the momentum gained from the agreement. Even the MILF is looking forward to rehabilitation and development projects," he said.

Meanwhile, Jesus Dureza, the President's assistant on Mindanao and chief peace negotiator with the MILF, who was left out in the backdoor negotiations, told reporters in Davao City that the "welcome agreements" signed by Gonzales played an important role in "untangling" the issues that caused the deadlock in the peace negotiations. He said that had this not happened, "we cannot move forward."

Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Roy Cimatu, who earlier voiced misgivings over the agreements, said he was certain that the ongoing inquiries in Congress would "straighten out some issues." "From our end in the AFP, we fully support this peace initiative," Cimatu said.

At the same time, Governor Emmanuel Piñol of North Cotabato, one of the areas where the MILF is active, proposed yesterday the total disarmament in Mindanao as key to the success of an impending final peace pact.