Cebu Daily News / Opinion

http://globalnation.inquirer.net/cebudailynews/opinion/view_article.php?article_id=157554

STRAIGHT JAB Straight Jab : People power By Job Tabada Cebu Daily News Posted date: August 29, 2008 What has been viewed as the Arroyo government’s aspired legacy, the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD), supposedly to end the 40-year-old Bangsamoro conflict, has now become an object of abhorrence, even as proponents remain steadfast in defending the MOA-AD in the name of peace. It has given reason again to the rebirth of vigilantism in the resurrected Ilaga, in response to the atrocities, initiated by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) elements (criminals or terrorists?) in the aftermath of the muddled accord, that have already claimed scores of people (both Christians and Muslims) and caused the displacement of thousands. “For every civilian killed, we will execute 10 Moro rebels,” yelled Mike Santiago of the so-called Reformed Ilaga Movement. Ilaga, a group of armed Christian volunteer fighters, fiercely fought the Muslim rebels who wanted self-rule in the ’70s. Only recently, vociferously opposing the MOA-AD, which grants the Moros an expanded homeland, some 20 representatives of 13 lumad (indigenous people) communities in Mindanao and Palawan and several tribal leaders met in Cagayan de Oro City and demanded that they be granted self-rule as well, claiming that Mindanao lumad constitute half of the more than 11 million indigenous peoples in the country. And taking the cue from disconcerted groups who initially reviled the MOA-AD with their barrage of legal actions, a flustered Arroyo aide, Eduardo Ermita, blubbered: “This is unconstitutional.” Buried in his article was this audacious message of Inquirer columnist Randy David to the MILF leadership: From the start you would have known that Ms Arroyo’s mandate to negotiate for the Filipino nation was a big question mark. But you went ahead and dismissed this as an internal problem of the Filipino people, believing that what was important was to advance the talks and get the government and the major international powers in the region to affirm your premises. I think you have succeeded in doing that. But all of that is now being nullified by the mounting distrust for Ms Arroyo and by the public fury over the barbaric acts committed by MILF Commanders Kato and Bravo. And believe it or not, a concerned reader who asked not to be identified, e-mailed to inform about recruitment activities conducted by a group in Negros Oriental that’s disturbing residents there amid the ongoing conflict in Mindanao. He said his relative was among those approached by a group who offered high-paying jobs to work under the Bangsamoro Economic Mindanao Development Council based in Basilan City. Free transportation expenses to those qualified, according to the source. * * * Mandaue City’s and Compostela town’s legislative councils have one thing in common: they fear “People Power.” It has abbreviated their supposed lackadaisical concern on matters that have something to do with public interest. Never mind if it’s dictated by political influence. Compostela legislators finally acted on the proposed annual budget submitted by Mayor Richie Wagas, but only after town residents staged a protest rally to denounce the council’s inaction. Mandaue City Council, on the other hand, approved the budget allocation to settle the delayed salaries of more than 1,000 City Hall workers. * * * The night market on historic Colon Street is more of a blot on the landscape than something that serves the interest of Cebu City constituents. This is what businessman Arsenio Ylanan is trying to point out in his letter. He wrote: “During the night market, the stretch of Colon from Junquera Street to Osmeña Boulevard is closed to vehicular traffic, thereby causing inconvenience to a lot of buyers in the downtown area. “Businesses in the area are affected as fewer people come to Colon to buy their goods because the street is closed to vehicular traffic. Besides, the goods sold by vendors in the night market are mostly pirated and can be found in the different establishments in the downtown area during daytime. “Worse, prices of goods in the night market are even higher compared to those sold during daytime. The night market is supposed to be held only every December and during the celebration of the Cebu Business Month in June. Just recently, the night market was held for one month from July 10 to Aug. 10. “Thus, I am asking Mayor Tomas Osmeña to discourage the holding of a night market in the future as it might choke all businesses in the area to death. I appeal to the good mayor to act on this matter as soon as possible.”