“Ang tungkulin ko po: Halughugin ang kasaysayan para sa mga katotohanang ito, at mula roon ay maglatag ng direksyon na tatahakin ng ating bansa ukol sa usapin ng Sabah—isang direksyong sinisiguro ko po sa inyo ay hindi gagamit ng dahas,” Aquino said during the 45th commemoration of the Jabidah Massacre at the Corregidor Island.
By IRENE V. DAGUDOG
DavaoToday
DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Amidst the widespread clamor for the government to make a peaceful resolution on the Sabah conflict since February, it was only Monday when President Benigno Aquino III ordered the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Justice and the Executive Secretary to conduct a study and recommend for a roadmap to a peaceful resolution on Sabah.
“Ang tungkulin ko po: Halughugin ang kasaysayan para sa mga katotohanang ito, at mula roon ay maglatag ng direksyon na tatahakin ng ating bansa ukol sa usapin ng Sabah—isang direksyong sinisiguro ko po sa inyo ay hindi gagamit ng dahas,” Aquino said during the 45th commemoration of the Jabidah Massacre at the Corregidor Island.
Since Sultan Jumalul Kiram III’s group arrived in Sabah last February 12, many have been asking the Philippine government to engage in talks with the Malaysian government or to urge the United Nations to already intervene.
But Aquino only called for Kiram’s group to come home from Lahad Datu. In his speech Tuesday, he said that his government did so because it believed that “mas produktibo ang mahinahong usapan, at walang mabuting maibubunga ang dahas.”
He also expressed worry that what happened in Sabah will “manganganak lamang ito ng hidwaan, at marahil ay lilikha ng mga problemang bibilang na naman ng henerasyon bago masolusyonan.”
However, for some groups, Aquino’s recent calls were just a “poor attempt at saving face.”
“Aquino cheered on when the Malaysian government was launching a massacre of Filipinos in Sabah and was violating Filipinos’ human rights. Now, he wants to project himself as a peace advocate and a patriot. What a hypocrite,” Roger Soluta, secretary general of labor center Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU), said in a statement.
This after already 62 Filipinos and 10 Malaysian police and military forces were reportedly killed in Sabah. Reports also surfaced that Malaysian government has committed various rights abuses against the Filipinos.
It can be recalled that Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razax has refused to stop military operations despite Sultan Kiram’s call for a ceasefire. Kiram said he was only heeding the call of the UN.
But after then, a wave of arbitrary arrest, detention and killings against Filipinos were reported, as well as other forms of cruel and degrading treatment.
Cristina Palabay of the rights group Karapatan said that Razax’s refusal to call for a ceasefire was an indication of the Malaysian government’s “hostile and inhumane” stand on the Sabah crisis.
What aggravated the crisis, Palabay said, was the Aquino government’s threats against Kiram.
“Whether they are civilians or supporters of Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III, the reported acts of the state security forces of the Malaysian government show its total disregard for life and other fundamental human rights. It is not just a matter of ‘grave concern,’ but an issue that should be dealt with decisively by the Aquino government,” Palabay said in a statement.
Katribu Party has also scored the Malaysian forces.
“The repression and violence carried out by Malaysian forces against Filipinos stand unencumbered by the Philippine government. These actions are tantamount to betrayal of the interests and welfare of the Filipino people, from whom the government derives its mandate,” said Katribu.
But Aquino in his speech at the Corregidor said, “Nililinaw pa po natin ang tunay na bilang ng mga nasawi sa insidente sa Lahad Datu.”
He said that not only the casualties and their families are affected but also the estimated 800,000 Filipinos currently living in Malaysia.
“Kung biglang magdagsaan pauwi, ay hindi natin maaaring pabayaan, at tiyak na makakaapekto sa atin pong kabuhayan at ekonomiya,” he said.
Aquino estimated that the number would mean 160,000 families who will need PHP 4.78 Billion yearly budget for food at PHP 250 per family every three days.
Housing for these number of families would require the government PHP 32B, exclusive of lot.
“Pagkain at tirahan pa lamang po iyan; wala pa sa bilang ang pagtuturo sa kanila ng angkop na kakayahan, ang paghahanap ng lupang sasakahin kunsakali, ang mga dagdag na silid-aralan para sa mga bata, ang pag-enrol sa PhilHealth, at iba pang mga serbisyong kailangan upang makapamuhay sila nang may dignidad,” Aquino said.
Meanwhile, KMU also scored the Aquino government for “acting as the Malaysian government’s jailers of Filipinos” after the Philippine Navy intercepted 38 alleged members of the Sulu Sultanate’s force who were trying to reenter the Philippines in two speedboats after fleeing from Malaysian security forces in Sabah.
Labog said that Aquino, with his latest pronouncements, just wants to appear as “standing up for peace and the country’s sovereignty” after allowing Malaysian authorities to kill Filipinos in Sabah and violate human rights.
Aquino in his speech at the Corregidor said that what happened in Lahad Datu is a tragedy. But he added that the greater tragedy is for the Filipinos not learning their lessons from the past.
“Ang pagsunod sa batas, at ang pagrespeto sa mga patakaran, ang tanging makatarungang tugon sa mga hamong kinakaharap natin,” he said.
But for Katribu, the president only showed his “disinterest and disregard” of the Moro people’s struggle for their rights to ancestral territories and self-determination as he dismissed the issue as a “conspiracy” instigated by his so-called political enemies.
“Aquino’s refusal to support the Tausug peoples’ rightful claim to Sabah perpetuates the non-recognition and denial of the national minorities’ struggle for their ancestral land rights,” Katribu said.
Labog also said that with Aquino not issuing a clear stand on the country’s claim to Sabah, he suspects that the president will possibly surrender the Philippines’ long-standing claim on the disputed territory. (Irene V. Dagudog/davaotoday.com)
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