Noy to Sultan: Stand down

MANILA, Philippines - Calling their buildup of forces in Sabah a “foolhardy act,” President Aquino yesterday made a televised appeal to Sulu Sultan Jamalul Kiram III and his followers to stand down and leave the territory peacefully.

The President said the Kirams would be made to answer for violating Philippine laws if they insist on staying in Sabah with their armed followers.

“The right thing to do now would be to order your followers to return home as soon as possible. The choices and consequences are yours. If you choose not to cooperate, the full force of the laws of the state will be used to achieve justice for all who have been put in harm’s way,” Aquino warned Kiram.

Later in a press conference, Aquino clarified he was not setting a deadline for the sultan’s followers to leave Sabah.

“I think deadlines have been thrown left and right. I think they are aware of the situation that is unfolding,” Aquino said.

He said he would not allow Kiram and his followers to flout the law. “As President and chief executor of our laws, I have tasked an investigation into possible violations of laws by you, your followers, and collaborators engaged in this foolhardy act,” Aquino said in his televised address.

“Among your possible violations is Article 2 Section 2 of the Constitution, which states that the Philippines renounces war as an instrument of national policy, the enabling law of which is Article 118 of the Revised Penal Code, which punishes those who ‘provoke or give occasion for a war… or expose Filipino citizens to reprisals on their persons or property,’” Aquino said.

“Thus, you are now fully aware of the consequences of your actions. We have not yet reached the point of no return, but we are fast approaching that point,” he said.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima echoed Aquino’s statement that the sultan and his brother Datu Raja Muda Agbimuddin Kiram may be charged with violation of Article 118 of the Revised Penal Code or inciting to war or giving occasion or motive for reprisal.

“Remember that irrespective of the validity of the merit of the claim of the sultanate of Sulu, what they’re doing now is wrong. What they’re doing now involves violations of certain laws,” she stressed.

“It’s very clear in the instruction of the President for us to investigate who are the people behind them,” she added.

De Lima also clarified that the move of President Aquino to call on the sultanate’s army to return to Sulu was not tantamount to a withdrawal of the country’s Sabah claim.

“The administration has not made yet a definitive stand at this point on the claim of the sultanate. As we all know this claim has been considered dormant because that has not been seriously pursued in the past. But the President’s appeal doesn’t mean we are already relinquishing or abandoning such claim,” she explained.    

Lost letter

Aquino said there was never any intention to ignore the Kirams’ plea for help in pushing for their claim on Sabah but getting armed men and civilians to hole up in Lahad Datu was not the right way to achieve their goal of reclaiming the territory.

“The presence of an armed group in Lahad Datu will only bring us further away from resolving these issues,” he said.

The President said a letter reportedly sent by the sultan through the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process may have been “lost in the bureaucratic maze” when the administration was still being organized.

“Let me make clear that there was no intention to ignore your letter. Knowing this now, will you let your mistaken belief dictate your course of action?” Aquino asked.

In his message to Kiram and his followers, the President promised to address their grievances “according to correct processes when your people arrive home.”

“And so this is my appeal to you: These are your people, and it behooves you to recall them. It must be clear to you that this small group of people will not succeed in addressing your grievances, and that there is no way that force can achieve your aims,” Aquino said.

“You are a leader of your clan, and every leader seeks the well-being of his constituents. These times require you to use your influence to prevail on our countrymen to desist from this hopeless cause,” he said.

He said the standoff, which began on Feb. 9, is also putting at risk other Filipinos peacefully engaged in livelihood in Sabah.

“These are hundreds of thousands of individuals. Their families, dependent on their wages, are likewise being made to suffer. Filipinos residing in Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi, who trade with Sabah, have had their commerce disrupted. Most of these people are your fellow Muslims. This is a situation that cannot persist,” Aquino said.

“If you are truly the leader of your people, you should be one with us in ordering your followers to return home peacefully. This is the time to demonstrate that you are a true leader both in name and deed,” he told Kiram.

Restraint

The President said his officials are coordinating closely with their Malaysian counterparts to make sure the situation doesn’t get out of hand. He said the Sabah issue is ticklish for both the Philippines and Malaysia and that situations like the ongoing standoff might exacerbate tensions.

“Our relations with Malaysia have always been colored by the issue of Sabah – an issue that has persisted for over half a century. This issue is complex: from the basis of our claim, to the question of the rightful heirs, and even involving the translation of documents from an era when our grandparents weren’t even born,” Aquino said.

“Having an armed group in Lahad Datu presents a challenge that the Malaysian authorities cannot ignore. From the outset of this incident, our primary consideration has always been to protect all lives,” Aquino said.

The President said Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario had reached an agreement with Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman that the issue should be resolved in a peaceful manner.

At the DFA, spokesman Raul Hernandez said Undersecretary for Special Concerns Jose Brillantes is working with Malaysian authorities in convincing Kiram’s followers to return to Tawi-Tawi.

“Being a former ambassador to Malaysia, he will have some contacts and he will be able to coordinate well with the Malaysian authorities to be able to achieve the objective of bringing our people back in to their respective homes in Mindanao,” Hernandez said in a press briefing.

Aquino also said the country’s armed forces and police are constantly communicating with their Malaysian counterparts.

“For example, the Philippine and Malaysian navies have worked together to prevent other groups from entering Lahad Datu. From the three extensions of the deadline given by Malaysia, to the constant coordination as events unfolded, our efforts have not ceased,” Aquino said.

“Apart from this, we have also sent a number of emissaries to the Kiram family to ask them to convince the group in Lahad Datu to return home peacefully. In fact, there is a humanitarian ship with social workers and medical officers on board nearby to facilitate the peaceful departure of those in Lahad Datu,” the President said. 

Unseen hand

Aquino also voiced suspicion that an unseen hand was goading Kiram and his followers into forcibly taking over Sabah.

While not naming names, Aquino said such groups or individuals have had the resources to mobilize transport and move people from Tawi-Tawi to Sabah.  “They are not in very good financial condition,” he said of the Kirams.  

“Hence, the first logical question would be: Where did the funding come from? And who is funding them? So it seems clear at this point but we are still collating evidence that this was not an action just on their part,” the President said in a short briefing after delivering his televised statement on the Sabah incident.

Aquino said the claim of the Kirams over Sabah was “quite an extensive study.” He also made a powerpoint presentation touching mainly on the conflict among clan members regarding the issue.

“Can we show you just one of the end results? This is the lineage of the rulers of Sulu, of the Sultanate of Sulu. From Sultan Jamalul Kiram II, whose reign or term ended in 1936, I understand he did not have any direct heirs. So you have all of these lines of people who claim and wait, may I just add, based on the research that was handed to me – Sultan Mawalil Wasit was the next designated Sultan who unfortunately died before he got crowned,” Aquino told reporters.

“So you have all of these branches as to who should be the direct heir or who should be rulers. And they have at least five people who are claiming to be the sultan of Sulu. That is one of my first problems, who actually represents the Sultanate of Sulu? Then, again it is a very extensive document. It is even single space. There are actually two documents that have yet to be studied, submitted to me yesterday. It’s a process that is still ongoing,” he said.

The President appealed for time to pore over the documents since the country’s claim over Sabah has been dormant for years.

“Can I study the material that was given to me first precisely to determine how strong our claim is?” he said, adding any thorough discussion on the country’s Sabah claim cannot proceed if Kiram and his followers remain holed up in the territory.

“Once that is done (withdrawal from Sabah), let us ease the tensions within a week or two weeks later, then we can sit down with Sultan Jamalul Kiram III and precisely map out their grievances and see the way forward after that,” he said.

Aquino said it is still premature to bring the Sabah claim to an international body as some documents on the matter have yet to be verified.

“Give me a little time to study the material that was given to me. Let me restate, the first time I think we issued a claim on Sabah was sometime in 1962. Now, the source documents come from 1878, 1903, and so on and so forth. There is an allegation that the translations handed to the signatories of various treaties are not even faithful reproductions of each other’s copy,” the President said.

“It seems there is an impression that everybody took home a copy that they were very happy with, which means… Three parties negotiating for their own interest cannot all be satisfied to the same extent unless they were looking at different documents,” he said. He declined to comment on the monthly rent being received by the Kirams from Malaysia, saying he has to “finish the study” first. With Pia Lee- Brago, Edu Punay