Dureza: I was not aware of P5 M

MANILA, Philippines - Former presidential peace adviser Jesus Dureza insisted yesterday he was unaware of the P5-million allocation for the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and had never been a proponent of the creation of a Bangsamoro Management and Leadership Institute (BMLI).

Dureza was reacting to claims by Aquino administration officials that the P5-million donation to the MILF was part of an agreement between the rebel group and the previous Arroyo administration, which was confirmed by former chief negotiator Silvestre Afable.

Dureza claimed he had recently received information regarding a support fund extended to the MILF by Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Teresita Deles before her resignation in 2005 along with other Arroyo officials at the height of “Hello, Garci” scandal. The fund, according to Dureza, was supposed to support the Bangsamoro Development Academy (BDA) of the MILF.

The P5 million received by the MILF from Aquino was intended as “jumpstart fund” for the establishment of BMLI.

But during the Arroyo administration, Dureza said the money was not directly given to the MILF but to the Malaysian facilitator who turned it over to the rebel group.

“I guess Malacañang should also seek some clarifications from its own peace adviser about this instead of falsely accusing me just so they have someone else to blame for its own missteps. We all have to help clear up things for the sake of the peace process,” Dureza said in a statement.

But Deles said Dureza should first verify records before making allegations against her. “I really don’t want to get into a verbal tussle with Mr. Dureza. Clearly, the issue at hand is not about him nor about me,” Deles said.

She described as baseless Dureza’s claims that the OPAPP, under her leadership, had coursed cash donation to the MILF through the Malaysian facilitators.

“I never met the former facilitator, Datuk Othman, until a good period after I left government at an OPAPP forum under my immediate predecessor Anabelle Abaya. I am certain that I never handed over any amount of money to the Malaysians for the MILF. These facts can be easily verified,” Deles said.

“Regarding his (Dureza) other allegations, let me just state that, then and now, I have never joined the panel for talks with the MILF in Malaysia,” Deles said.

“At any rate, former chief negotiator Silvestre Afable has already stated the facts behind the funding provided to the BMLI,” Deles said.

Meanwhile, former government peace panel chair retired Gen. Rodolfo Garcia admitted making a request for P5-million funding for the MILF but only to follow up a previous letter-request for funding from Afable, purportedly for educating future Muslim leaders.

Garcia took over as chairman of the government peace panel from Afable in 2007.

“So the plan to put up the BMLI and to train future Muslim leaders on good governance, equip them with the necessary skills on management style, like simple accounting, and other matters like that for them to be able to govern their own selves if the peace agreement for whatever form of government is forged was conceived. And I thought that it was a very good idea,” Garcia said.

Transparency

For some Roman Catholic bishops, even financial dole-outs for rebels should be given in a transparent manner.

“The people have to be informed on what they talked about. Just like this situation, we were shocked to learn that P5 million was given to the MILF and P31 million to the ABB (Alex Boncayao Brigade) without the public’s knowledge,” said Tagbilaran, Bohol Bishop Leonardo Medroso in an interview over the Church-run Radio Veritas.

“This is the people’s money. It came from the taxes that they paid… taxes that they paid with their sweat and blood,” he said.

“If you give money for the sake of giving it in order to buy peace, I think it will not benefit both parties,” Iligan Bishop Elenito Galido said.

“What is the intention? Why give that money to rebels? This would not help in the peace process because if money is involved, I don’t know if the intent of the money is good. If the money is involved, they cannot explain well, there is no accountability and the questions will remain,” he said.

Batangas Archbishop Ramon Arguelles scoffed at the government’s move to hand over large amounts of money to rebel groups.

“It would mean more dead soldiers, widows and orphans. It (government) is paying them (rebels) to destroy our country. They are just providing arms to their enemy. They are just making them stronger,” he said.

Instead of directly giving money to rebel groups, Arguelles said the Aquino administration should support non-government organizations involved in caring for communities affected by conflict “so that the money would certainly reach them and it would be used for their upliftment and not for destructive means.”

For former senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr., Malaysia should not be made to mediate in the peace talks with the MILF considering the unresolved Sabah issue.

“It would be a big boost if Malaysia will be out in the peace talks,” Pimentel said in a news forum.

He recalled that at the height of uprising of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), Malaysia provided support and even allowed the training of MNLF guerillas in its territory.

Pimentel said Indonesia would be an ideal third party in the peace talks.

Impeachment

President Aquino’s granting P5 million to the MILF is a basis for his impeachment, according to Rep. Pastor Alcover of the party-list group Alliance for Nationalism and Democracy (ANAD). 

He said he is drafting an impeachment complaint, which he hopes to file upon the resumption of session on Nov.14.

“That by giving money to the MILF, President Aquino has done a disservice to the Filipino people with utmost irresponsibility and disloyalty and a gross manifestation of the inefficiency and lack of patriotism of his administration,” Alcover said in the Tapok-Tapok sa Media Forum at NS Royale Pension in Cebu City yesterday.

Alcover argued that Aquino’s giving P5 million to the MILF is a violation of Article VI Section 29(1) of the Constitution, which states that “no money shall be paid out of the treasury except in pursuance of an appropriation made by law.”

“President Aquino therefore violated the Constitution and the fact that his action was made only in compliance with the commitment of the previous administration is of no moment because he had everything in his power to review the said commitment, considering that the intended beneficiary is a group that is fighting against the government,” Alcover said.

He said the administration should deal accordingly with the MILF whose members have “terrorized and butchered civilians and military personnel” in areas where they operate.

He called it “the height of indiscretion” for the President to give money to the rebel group even if the amount was drawn from the Chief Executive’s discretionary fund.

The lawmaker reminded the President that the MILF is “publicly known to be brutal and has desecrated the bodies of the slain soldiers (of whom) President Aquino is the commander-in-chief.” With Jaime Laude, Perseus Echeminada, Evelyn Macairan, Gregg Rubio