Chacha Via Moro Moro?

The Moro Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has been having a protracted wet dream about a 1000-barangay "Bangsamoro Juridical Entity" for its potentates-in-waiting to rule over. The proposed BJE would even absorb bitter rival Nur Misuari's ARMM domain, a proviso that guarantees a condition of permanent fratricidal strife between the two liberation fronts.

But President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has made what the MILF website beguilingly describes as "a 360 degree U-turn" and rails that the government has reneged on previously agreed upon "consensus points" in regards to the pivotal ancestral domain issue. It seems a minor Technicality has arisen--it's called the Philippine Constitution--which requires popular plebiscites to approve such a surrender of territory to the multifarious "Liberation Fronts" holding Mindanao hostage for generations.

But instead of a Fiefdom on a Silver Platter, President Arroyo now offers her partners in the peace process a "Bangsamoro Federal State" for a homeland. Faced with the Constitutional principle of democratic self-determination of peoples, the MILF New Years Day statement is disdainful and dismissive, and predicts "a grim year in 2008 for the peace process" and hints darkly of hardliners and imminent war. Since it is precisely those "hardliners" that are the future of the jihad in Mindanao, I don't see why we should agree to the restoration of the old slave trading Maguindanao Confederacy.

Here's another charming turn of phrase from the Moro Moro Islamic Liberation Front after hearing of the government's new proposal to tie the Mindanao peace process to chacha:

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has received with cold shoulders offer of the government to resort to charter change next year to get the peace talks moving again by eying to set up a federal state in Mindanao for the Bangsamoro people. “

Having held Mindanao hostage for over a generation of deadly moro moro as MNLF, MILF, lost commands and Abu Sayyaf, they once more threaten organized violence unless given the ransom of land and power they lust after and demand. Since Dr. Jekyll boycotted the scheduled 15th GRP-MILF Exploratory Talks in Kuala Lumpur last December 15, the sounds emanating from the Luwaran official website are those of Mr. Hyde.

But can the President perhaps get chacha out of this moro moro by tying the Mindanao peace process to the idea of Federalism? Then sneak in some really important amendment, like term limits for Presidents?

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