Filtered by: Topstories
News

Pamatong asks Supreme Court to resolve two-year-old petition vs. BBL


A lawyer who tried to seek the presidency twice has asked the Supreme Court to finally resolve his two-year-old petition against the Bangsamoro Framework Agreement.
 
In a motion to resolve, lawyer Elly Pamatong said the tribunal could serve as a "peacemaker" if it renders a "mollifying and unifying" decision on his plea, in light of uncertainties on the Bangsamoro Basic Law's fate created stemming from the January 25 Mamasapano clash between the police and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, in which more than 60 people were killed.
 
"Once the Framework Agreement is declared unconstitutional, the BBL will become academic. Consequently, the raging controversy about the BBL will stop," the motion stated.
 
At least two senators had withdrawn support for the proposed BBL following the clash, with both houses of Congress suspending deliberations on the measure.
 
Lozano pointed out that while the government may still proceed with the peace negotiations, the suffering of the people in Mindanao has to be addressed first.
 
"The Solomonic Solution is massive economic development must be implemented immediately with the use of the Marcos wealth and Lihaylihay compromise. We cannot rely on donations. That is mendicancy in the face of plenty which hurts the national pride," he said.
 
"We may have mountains of peace agreements but if there (are) mounting victims of social injustice, neglect and ridicule, peace is illusive and elusive," he concluded.
 
In his petition filed in December 2013, Pamatong asked the high court to invalidate and declare as unconstitutional the agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front because the peace talks between the two were facilitated in Malaysia and with the help of Malaysians, who the petitioner claimed stand to benefit the most from the deal.
 
The deal, signed in October 2012, aimed at creating a new political entity meant to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, which President Benigno Aquino III had described as a "failed experiment" because corruption and poverty remained unmitigated in the region.
 
The framework was created with SC Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, former dean of University of the Philippines College of Law, who was then acting as chief negotiator for the Philippine government. Leonen was named SC associate justice shortly after the deal was signed.
 
Malaysians' role
 
Pamatong questioned the role that the Malaysians played in the peace talks, stressing that Malaysia is competing with the Philippines in claiming Sabah island. He said the agreement could well be considered a "deed of sale over Mindanao in favor of Malaysia. It is a treaty of surrender to the... Malaysian invasion of the Philippines."
 
Sabah is located in the northernmost part of the island of Borneo, south of the Philippines. Sabah is internationally recognized as a state of Malaysia but the Philippines lays claim to its eastern portion, saying it was part of the Sultanate of Sulu that was merely leased to the British North Borneo Company.
 
He said since the Mindanao population is made up of around 90 percent Christian Malays, the latter should have been consulted with.
 
He said Malaysia is the "real enemy" and not the the MILF and that the rebel group was merely as "Malaysian proxy."
 
He said the agreement revolved around two "vital interests or forces" namely, Malaysia's alleged interest in taking over southern Philippines and the Moros' struggle to have a completely independent Islamic and Koran-based nation called Bangsamoro.
 
Pamatong also claimed that the new Bangsamoro Framework Agreement was "substantially the same" as the Memorandum of Agreement-Ancestral Domain which was declared unconstitutional by the high court in 2008.
 
Who is Pamatong
 
Pamatong is a reverend at the Immortal White Rock Church of Enoch and Elijah, which is headquartered in Davao City.
 
Pamatong was notorious for his pro-US rallies and disrupting traffic in Manila after scattering spikes on the road in 2004. A few months back, he was also seen publicly burning the Malaysian flag.
 
He ran for president in 2004 but was declared a nuisance candidate. In 2007, he ran for governor but lost. He tried to join the 2010 presidential race but was again excluded by the poll body.
More Videos