The Mindanao Factor will haunt President Aquino if...

"Yes, the Mindanao Factor will haunt this president if the pudding cooked by the bilateral chefs does not accommodate the entire country at the banquet. The best leaders are the ones who listen best and who engage the opponent with a strong respect for unvarnished dialogue. Practice truth and fear nothing!"

By Yolanda Ortega Stern
26 January 2013

President Aquino, in an interview with the Philippine Daily Inquirer last week, stated that that he did not think the legendary Nur Misuari, founding Chair of the Moro National Liberation Force (MNLF) was a spent force.

The Inquirer wrote that Mr Aquino remains wary of those who would want to spoil the gains of a peace agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The Inquirer also asked the Chief Executive if there might be people from the MNLF who might be agitated by a peace agreement between government and the MILF. Mr Aquino said: 

“Yes, I am sure. It could be the BIFF (Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters), or it could be some other group. They might be a new group.”

My view:

His Excellency, President Benigno Aquino Jr., must of course be wary not only of Nur Musuari but also of every Filipino Moslem who at some point in their lives walked both sides of war and peace in search of  'self determination.'
  
He must also be wary of Filipino Lumads and Christians who comprise the majority of poor Filipinos without a visible promise of opportunity. We must also all remember, along with the President, that there have been many other Deals reached and signed before he came along, one in particular not yet implemented. And it was not because of 'spoilers'.

Spoilers are but a very small number of people who are aware of ongoing business and want theur voices heard. Ask the lonely fisherman in Sacol: What about the new deal, and he would have no clue. They just live and die by the bullet, the fire, or the poverty they all inherited decade after decade.   

Yes, the Mindanao Factor will haunt this president if the pudding cooked by the bilateral chefs does not accomodate the entire country at the banquet. The best leaders are the ones who listen best and who engage the opponent with a strong respect for unvarnished dialogue. Practice truth and fear Nothing!
  
~~~~O~~~~

Yolanda Ortega Stern is the President at One World Institute, a US registered NGO for health, education, livelihood, disaster relief; Mr Stern has given her permission for the publication of her view on this blog. 

~~~~O~~~~

INQUIRER REPORT: Aquino wary of Misuari, other peace deal spoilers
By Nikko Dizon
Philippine Daily Inquirer
2:29 am | Sunday, January 26th, 2014

President Benigno Aquino III said he did not consider Nur Misuari, the fugitive founding chair of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), a “spent force,” as he remained wary of those who would want to spoil the gains of a peace agreement between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

“Yes, I am sure. It could be the BIFF (Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters), or it could be some other group. They might be a new group,” the President said when asked in an interview with the Inquirer on Wednesday if there could be people from the MNLF who might be agitated by a peace agreement between government and the MILF.

Government and MILF negotiators completed talks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, yesterday on the normalization annex, the last document that would complete a peace agreement between the two parties aimed at ending four decades of fighting in central Mindanao.

Asked if he considered Misuari a spent force, the President said in Filipino: “I won’t say that. If you are a terrorist, even if there are only three of you, it’s enough. Even if you’re alone, it’s enough.”

Hunting Misuari

Authorities are hunting Misuari for instigating his followers to take over Zamboanga City in September last year, claiming that the government abrogated the 1996 peace agreement with the MNLF after it proposed to wind down the tripartite review of the organic law facilitated by Indonesia.

The government and the MNLF are reviewing some provisions of the organic law creating the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).  Mr. Aquino once described the ARMM as a “failed experiment.”

In the Zamboanga siege, Misuari loyalists took hostage more than 200 residents and left a part of the city in ruins.

It was the first urban warfare fought by the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the worst security threat faced by Mr. Aquino’s three-year-old administration. As commander in chief, the President personally oversaw the military operations to expel the rebels from Zamboanga.

Lost cause

President Aquino said spoilers would certainly be “alienated” once the people started to feel the gains of a peace agreement.

“We start off with a vast majority who is no longer supportive of your (the spoilers’) clandestine activities … There would be no more safe havens. It would be difficult for the bandit groups. If electricity is disrupted, a bridge is blown up and the produce is not brought to the market … All of this, would they gain sympathy? Probably not, so the majority will tell the others, we are living quiet lives and you don’t want to help us? So the more they would be alienated. The more they would become a lost cause, a weak factor,” Mr. Aquino said.

The President said reports reaching him indicated that other MNLF factions were supportive of the peace initiatives of the government.

To read full report, link here.

Pictures of President Benigno Aquino III and Nur Misuari. AP FILE PHOTOS

13 provinces at the altar of so-called peace: Is it worth dismembering the Republic to placate Kuala Lumpur?

"So we may all be clear: this so-called peace agreement or shared sovereignty rights over 13 provinces in Southern Mindanao with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) is what it is - it is not a peace offering to the people of Southern Mindanao but a peace offering to the Barisan Nasional politicos and businessmen of Kuala Lumpur."
By Anne de Bretagne
For the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum
08 January 2014

The Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process is very upbeat today: "Malacañan is hopeful the normalization annex of the Bangsamoro Framework Agreement will be signed this month."

According to the Solar News report, Presidential Communication Secretary Sonny Coloma has announced that 'peace panels from both the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front are now working on drafts and are also carrying out informal consultations on the annex prior to formal talks next week.'

My thoughts off the cuff:

I still don't understand why the Aquino Govt has deemed it wise to allow Malaysia with whom the Philippines has an outstanding territorial and sovereignty disputes to engineer a peace agreement in Southern Mindanao with a Kuala Lumpur-backed Muslim rebel faction that will entitle the same rebel group to lord it over 13 provinces in Southern Mindanao under the direct influence of Malaysia Federation. Can these people in Malacañan NOT SEE that they are authoring the potential dismemberment of the Republic in favour of Kuala Lumpur?

If they are truly for peace and are pro-Southern Mindanao, PH and its leaders should raise the Sabah claim flag today before another bloodbath occurs over this extremely lopsided deal that they are offering to the Southern Mindanao 'nation' through the Moro Islamic Liberation Front rebel group. If at all, Mr Aquino and his peace subalterns should instead find an economic and political entente with Putrajaya by proposing an equitable deal involving Sulu rights to Sabah to directly benefit the people of Sulu and the other provinces in their proposed MILF-controlled Bangsamoro region. Mr Aquino and his lieutenants are forgetting that the Southern Mindanao "nation" does not comprise merely of 10,000 MILF rebels but of more than 5 million souls from various cultural, political and religious factions.

It is not just ironic, it is also immensely tragic that PH and leaders have decided that instead of facing Kuala Lumpur over the Sabah issue which, as we all know, has been the cause of all the violence and misery among our people in Southern Mindanao, they choose to placate Kuala Lumpur (which we all know has been at the forefront of all the troubles in Mindanao since 1972) by offering the 13 provinces of Southern Mindanao at the altar of "peace" with Malaysia.

So we may all be clear: this so-called peace agreement or shared sovereignty rights over 13 provinces in Southern Mindanao with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front is what it is - it is not a peace offering to the people of Southern Mindanao but a peace offering to the Barisan Nasional politicos and businessmen of Kuala Lumpur.

BUT THE BIG QUESTION IS, is it worth dismembering the Republic to placate Kuala Lumpur over God knows what?

~~~~Õ~~~~

*Map shown was posted in 2012 by Malacañan Palace and can be viewed on PH Govt website with the following title: "Proposed Territory." This is a map highlighting the areas included in the proposed Bangsamoro Autonomous Political Entity." Click on this link to access map. 

Related blog posts:  

• GPH-MILF FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT: Is there a foreign conflict of interest? 
• Understanding the Sabah claim issue: It's all very simple actually: As Law Professor Isagani Cruz says, "President Noynoy faces an insoluble dilemma. If he believes that Sabah is part of the Philippines, he has to defend Sabah because Malaysia is attacking it. If he does not believe that Sabah is part of the Philippines, he opens himself up to impeachment, because Philippine law says that Sabah is part of the Philippines and he is sworn to uphold Philippine law. Talking of a conspiracy does not solve the problem; in fact, it is irrelevant if there is or there is no conspiracy. The dilemma has to do simply with his stand on Sabah itself."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

Year 2013 will be remembered as the Aquino Govt's anti-Filipino and anti-Philippine sovereignty year

And the latest shocker: The incompetence and the corruption continue! Mr Aquino and his agents played and are playing partisan politics as Tacloban and the rest of the Visayas 'burned' and continue to burn in the post Yolanda-Haiyan catastrophe.

By Anne de Bretagne
12 December 2013
for the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum

On the Philippine front: Year 2013 has been for me a most disappointing year.

Firstly, because whatever one says, Mr Aquino and many in his Govt of merry men gave up Panatag Shoal without batting an eyelash. The Philippine Navy until the reign of Mr Aquino had always fought to keep Panatag Shoal despite their meagre assets. In the 90s, the PN did not allow poachers in it and kept intruders in check. Today, we can say goodbye to Panatag Shoal. Yes, the Philippines has raised the issue to the United Nations but I am under no illusion that even if the UN verdict is in our favour, Panatag will not be returned to PH. Let's face it: China has succeeded in stationing themselves right in our EEZ and there's nothing much we can do about it because the man who is supposed to lead this country does not possess the moral courage and the mental acumen to lead and do something about it.

Secondly, the Sabah stand off showed the true colours of the President of the Republic by overtly siding with Prime Minister Najib and the Malaysian murderers of Tausugs who had gone to Sabah to stake their claim. Mr Aquino, in his bid to honour the memory of his father and his so-called promise to the Malaysians, wittingly left out the Tausugs in his hurry to form the Malaysia-engineered Bangsamoro with the MILF rebels.

Thirdly: Filipinos then discovered the massive corruption industry that's been keeping Philippine politics alive and thriving which is also known as the Pork Barrel Corruption industry! The industry is still thriving last time I read the news but just renamed: DAP.

Fourthly: And while PH was still reeling from the incredibly corrupt Pork Barrel Corruption industry shock, Filipinos began killing each other in the South. The President led the charge in killing Filipinos. I am convinced that the Zamboanga "stand-off" was an offshoot of this Govt's pro-Malaysia stand that saw the unecessary killings of our own.

And the latest shocker: The incompetence and the corruption continue! Mr Aquino and his agents played and are playing politics as Tacloban and the rest of the Visayas 'burned' and continue to burn in the post Yolanda-Haiyan catastrophe.

These are the major issues that haunt Year 2013 for me. Understandably, there are hundreds more of sub-issues but to list them down is just depressing so I prefer to limit the list to the above five. However, the year is not over and there remains a big question: Will there be any more anti-Filipino and anti-Ph sovereignty events or issues in store from the Aquino Govt for 2013?

~~~~O~~~~

Inaction over Sabah crisis, Malaysia "incursion" in Mindanao and the 1963 Manila Accord: The President may be guilty of working against the interests of the Republic in the service of a foreign government

Tomorrow (or today depending on which side of the globe you are seated), 31 July is the 50th Anniversary of the signing of the Manila Accord... 

In an article by Vidal Yudin Weil for the Free Malaysia Today dated March 9, 2013, the writer called Najib to task after Najib's following pronouncement in Lahad Datu:

“The question of Sabah within Malaysia should not be disputed by anyone. Let not anyone underestimate Malaysia’s commitment to have Sabah within Malaysia forever. No one can dispute this, from within and outside the country. We will uphold the principle and fact of Sabah within Malaysia absolutely”. 

Writer Vidal insisted that Najib was wrong: "Najib is wrong in making unilateral claims that Sabah belongs to Malaysia when historical legal documents and agreements may indicate otherwise."

To prove his point, he enumerated the salient points in that Manila Accord: 

(i) the inclusion of Sabah into the formation of Malaysia is subject to the Philippines claim; 
(ii) and the Philippines’ claim on Sabah must be settled in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) run by the United Nations.

With implaccable logic, he said: "Therefore, until such time when the ICJ has decided, Malaysia does not have absolute ownership of Sabah."

Fifty years hence and PH is still in no man's land about where its loyalty and interests lay... Fifty years hence and PH still has not fulfilled its contractual obligations part of which is to prosecute the Sabah claim which by PH law, by virtue of Republic Act 5446, is Philippine territory. 

We were hoping that following the Tanduo siege and the in the aftermath of the Lahad Datu massacre of Filipinos who went to Sabah to finally stake their claim in February this year (because of the Republic's failure to honour its legal and moral obligations vis-à-vis the Republic and the Sultanate of Sulu), President Aquino now understands that he cannot give away Sabah without violating the law. 

But the sad part is that while President Aquino just may have realised that his hands are constitutionally tied and that he cannot do as he pleases overtly or publicly, i.e., give up the claim or give Sabah to Malaysia officially, it seems he has resorted to subterfuge when he both implicitly and explicitly sided with Malaysia on virtually everything during the critical Tanduo-Lahad Datu events that saw many of our countrymen arrested, abused, killed, and deported! It's as if he had sworn his personal loyalty to Malaysia for some personal debt which to us is not this nation's debt! 


By choosing to side with Najib and Malaysia rather than with the Sultanate of Sulu, the president is definitely guilty of violating the Republic's contractual obligation vis-à-vis the Sultanate of Sulu which was to prosecute the Sabah claim. 

The President must realise that his refusal or inaction to push for the recognition of the 1963 Manila Accord during this critical period after Malaysia killed many Tausugs, jailed and deported Suluks and when KL judiciary is about to sentence to the death penalty many of our countrymen, is tantamount to giving Najib and the Kuala Lumpur government the right 'to rape' Filipinos and to go ahead and plunder the Philippines by way of Sabah. 

I am sorry to say but no matter how we turn this Sabah issue around today, we see it no other way: The President may be guilty of working against the interests of the Republic in the service of a foreign government. 


~~ AdB
For the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum
and for the Defenders of the Philippine Sabah & Spratly Claims
30 July 2013


Related blog posts: 

• Najib bombastic, Aquino frightened but both are guilty of not honouring 1963 Manila Accord
• Sabah dispute, the Philippine claim and the International Court of Justice
• On Malaysia-engineered GPH-MILF "peace talks": NoyNoy Aquino's personal debt of gratitude to Malaysia is not the nation's debt
• Sabah's sovereignty 1946-1963: Although compromised by British colonisation, Sabah legally belonged to the Sultanate of Sulu
• ONLY LEGAL SOLUTION TO SABAH QUESTION IS TO HONOUR UN TREATY - 1963 MANILA ACCORD
• Beyond comprehension: PH Government's un-involved observer stance on Filipino actions to revive Sabah claim
• On Manila Accord of 1963: Malaysia prefers to lose 'national honour' than to lose Sabah
• Malaysian writer's Sabah conflict solution: Revisit the Manila Accord
• Lahad Datu Massacre, Sulu Sultanate Rights and the Manila Accord 1963
• United Nations Treaties No. 8029: Manila Accord 1963

Malaysian writer calls Najib to task for not honouring 1963 Manila Accord

One of the provisions in the 1963 Manila Accord: to settle the Sabah case in the international court but Malaysia has now decided they did not want to honour the UN treaty. Without Malaysia's agreement, the Philippines cannot push the ICJ to arbitrate.

Paragraph 12 of the Manila Accord:

"The Philippines made it clear that its position on the inclusion of North Borneo in the Federation of Malaysia is subject to the final outcome of the Philippine claim to North Borneo. The Ministers took note of the Philippine claim and the right of the Philippines to continue to pursue it in accordance with international law and the principle of the pacific settlement of disputes. They agreed that the inclusion of North Borneo in the Federation of Malaysia would not prejudice either the claim or any right thereunder. Moreover, in the context of their close association, the three countries agreed to exert their best endeavours to bring the claim to a just and expeditious solution by peaceful means, such as negotiation, conciliation, arbitration, or judicial settlement as well as other peaceful means of the parties' own choice, in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations and the Bandung Declara tion."

Note this: "They agreed that the inclusion of North Borneo in the Federation of Malaysia would not prejudice either the claim or any right thereunder."

But the recent pronouncements of Najib contradicted what Malaysia had agreed upon with PH in the Manila Accord; he said that Kuala Lumpur will never never let go of Sabah. It is contrary to and is a violation of that agreement which is a UN treaty.

In an article by Vidal Yudin Weil for the Free Malaysia Today on dated March 9, 2013, the writer called Najib to task after Najib's pronouncement:

Yesterday, Najib made the following statement at a press conference in Lahad Datu: “The question of Sabah within Malaysia should not be disputed by anyone. Let not anyone underestimate Malaysia’s commitment to have Sabah within Malaysia forever. No one can dispute this, from within and outside the country. We will uphold the principle and fact of Sabah within Malaysia absolutely”. 

And insisted that Najib was wrong:

Najib is wrong in making unilateral claims that Sabah belongs to Malaysia when historical legal documents and agreements may indicate otherwise.

The writer also continued to enumerate the salient points in that Manila Accord:

It was undoubtedly stated from the above provisions of the Manila Accord and joint statement that:

• the inclusion of Sabah into the formation of Malaysia is subject to the Philippines claim; and

• the Philippines’ claim on Sabah must be settled in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) run by the United Nations.

And with implaccable logic, stated:

Therefore, until such time when the ICJ has decided, Malaysia does not have absolute ownership of Sabah.

As Vidal called Najib to task, it became clear to me that there just might still be honourable people among the Malaysians:

By refusing to honour the Manila Accord and backtracking on the joint statement, has Najib not figuratively slapped the Philippines and Indonesia which were signatories to the historic documents? 

Internationally, is Najib not telling the whole world, especially foreign investors, that what Malaysia agrees and signs at any time may not be fulfilled or respected at Malaysia’s whims and fancies?

Obviously, Najib was emboldened to issue his offending pronouncements and to not honour the Manila Accord because our own president's inaction and playing spokesman to Najib served as signals to Malaysia that the Philippines wouldn't do anything about the claim. 

In that context, President Aquino is equally if not more guilty than Najib for waylaying the Manila Accord which is tantamount to his dismissing his Constitutional obligations. President Aquino's actions during the Sabah stand-off have clearly have emboldened Najib to overtly violate the Manila Accord which is a UN treaty. 

By choosing to side with Najib and Malaysia rather than with the Sultanate of Sulu, the president is also guilty of violating the Republic's contractual obligation vis-à-vis the Sultanate of Sulu which was to prosecute the Sabah claim. 

The President must realise that his refusal to push for the recognition of the 1963 Manila Accord during this critical period is tantamount to giving Najib and the Kuala Lumpur government the right to rape and plunder the Philippines. I really see no other way to put it.

By AdB for the Sabah Claim Society

15 April 2013

Related post: Signing of the 1963 Manila Accord

Article in Free Malaysia Today: Did Najib lie to the nation?Vidal Yudin Weil | March 9, 2013

Najib is wrong in making unilateral claims that Sabah belongs to Malaysia when historical legal documents and agreements may indicate otherwise. 

According to the Manila Accord signed on July 31, 1963 and registered in the United Nations as document No. 8029, then Malayan deputy prime minister Abdul Razak Hussein (late father of the present Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak) met up with foreign minister Dr Subandrio of Indonesia, and vice-president Emmanuel Pelaez of the Philippines in Manila for five days from June 7 to 11, 1963, to discuss about the status of Sabah. 

Consequently, it was agreed in writing by former Malayan prime minister Tunku Abdul Rahman together with president Soekarno of Indonesia and president Diosdado Macapagal of the Philippines in paragraph 12 thereof: 

“The Philippines made it clear that its position on the inclusion of North Borneo in the Federation of Malaysia is subject to the final outcome of the Philippines’ claim to North Borneo. The ministers took note of the Philippines’ claim and the right of the Philippines to continue to pursue it in accordance with international law and the principle of the pacific settlement of disputes. They agreed that the inclusion of North Borneo in the Federation of Malaysia would not prejudice either the claim or any right thereunder. Moreover, in the context of their close association, the three countries agreed to exert their best endeavours to bring the claim to a just and expeditious solution by peaceful means, such as negotiation, conciliation, arbitration, or judicial settlement as well as other peaceful means of the parties’ own choice, in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations and the Bandung Declaration.” 

Subsequently on Aug 5, 1963 in a joint statement released to international media, the same also agreed in writing under paragraph 8 thereof: 

“In accordance with paragraph 12 of the Manila Accord, the three Heads of Government decided to request the British Government to agree to seek a just and expeditious solution to the dispute between the British Government and the Philippines Government concerning Sabah (North Borneo) by means of negotiation, conciliation and arbitration, judicial settlement, or other peaceful means of the parties’ own choice in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations. The three Heads of Government take cognizance of the position regarding the Philippines claim to Sabah (North Borneo) after the establishment of the Federation of Malaysia as provided under paragraph 12 of the Manila Accord, that is, that the inclusion of Sabah (North Borneo) in the Federation of Malaysia does not prejudice either the claim or any right thereunder.” 

It was undoubtedly stated from the above provisions of the Manila Accord and joint statement that: 

• the inclusion of Sabah into the formation of Malaysia is subject to the Philippines claim; and

• the Philippines’ claim on Sabah must be settled in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) run by the United Nations. 

Therefore, until such time when the ICJ has decided, Malaysia does not have absolute ownership of Sabah. 

Yesterday, Najib made the following statement at a press conference in Lahad Datu: 

“The question of Sabah within Malaysia should not be disputed by anyone. Let not anyone underestimate Malaysia’s commitment to have Sabah within Malaysia forever. No one can dispute this, from within and outside the country. We will uphold the principle and fact of Sabah within Malaysia absolutely”. 

Now, with the involvement of the two late former prime ministers of Malaysia – Tunku Abdul Rahman and Abdul Razak Hussein – in the Manila Accord and joint statement which contained straightforward and unambiguous stipulations, the question that begged to be answered now is: why did Najib lie to the whole nation without even blinking his eyes? 

By refusing to honour the Manila Accord and backtracking on the joint statement, has Najib not figuratively slapped the Philippines and Indonesia which were signatories to the historic documents? 

Internationally, is Najib not telling the whole world, especially foreign investors, that what Malaysia agrees and signs at any time may not be fulfilled or respected at Malaysia’s whims and fancies? 

How are Malaysians going to face anyone overseas when our own prime minister has made us the butt of jokes and the laughing stock of the world? 

Effectively, he has also slapped each and every Malaysian who has an ounce of dignity. 

The writer is a former Sabah tour operator; loves food and speed; and blogs at http://legalandprudent.blogspot.com giving no quarters. The opinion and interpretation heretofore contained are exclusively his alone.

A remarkable and consistent Aquino clan tradition of disdain for the Republic's Sabah claim

When Mrs Cory Aquino became president of the Philippines following the fall of President Marcos in 1986, she tried hard to convince the royal Kirams of the Sultanate of Sulu, acknowledged heirs to North Borneo (Sabah) to drop their proprietary claims to Sabah. 

We think that was a tack she chose to be able to convince Congress to drop PH sovereignty rights claim to Sabah. However, popular as she might be then, Mrs Aquino encountered strong resistance from the public and from the members of Congress. With that for a backdrop in 1987, the PH government was unable to officially drop the country's long standing Sabah claim despite Mrs Aquino's efforts.

The disdain for the nation's Sabah claim, it seems, has been a remarkable and consistent tradition in the Aquino clan. 

In 1963, Senator Lorenzo Sumulong, uncle of Mrs Cory Aquino, himself rose against the Republic's move to put forward its Sabah claim by openly siding with the British and publicly praising the vision of Malaya's then prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman. Sumulong ridiculed the efforts of then President Diosdado Macapagal and Senator Jovito Salonga, the country's Sabah claim champion.

In 1968, Mrs Aquino's husband, Senator Benigno Aquino Jr, exposed Operation Merdeka by sensationalising it as the 'Jabiddah Massacre'. Operation Merdeka, in fact, was the first physical attempt by the Republic to take Sabah back. Following Mr Aquino's denunciation of the covert operation, Kuala Lumpur began to finance and support the separatist movement by the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) that saw the secession wars in Mindanao for many decades.

There have been revelations recently too that Senator Ninoy Aquino had actually sought Malaysia PM Mahathir before his return to PH from exile to the effect that in exchange for Malaysia support for toppling President Marcos,  Mr Aquino (the father) would be president and once he became president, he vowed to the Malaysian leader that PH would officially drop the Sabah claim. 

In February 2013, Mrs Aquino's own son, Noynoy, himself elected to the Philippine presidency, has been doing all he can for the Philippine Sabah claim to be dropped even it it means 'cavorting' with Kuala Lumpur and sacrificing the Tausugs of Sulu who are being wiped out in Sabah by foreign military troops. In keeping with family tradition of disdain for the Philippine Sabah claim, and even as Filipino Tausugs are being slaughtered by Malaysia troops under orders of Najib Razak, President NoyNoy Aquino asks, "But what do you want me to do?"

~~ By Defenders of the Philippine Sabah and Spratly Claims
04 April 2013
  

Should President Aquino's Government now officially accept to kill our Sabah claim in the name of peace?

LET US BE VERY CLEAR ABOUT ONE THING: We are not against peace talks or peace deals with any of the rebel groups or Islamic organisation in Mindanao.

We do not even oppose handing over portions of Mindanao to our fellow countrymen or Muslim brothers in Mindanao, be they MNLF, MILF, BIFF, BIFM, MIM, or to whoever among OUR people BUT -- and this is a big but -- what we feel strongly about is doing it to serve Malaysia interests to the detriment of our own national peace, law and order in Mindanao, economic development in the South and above all, to the detriment of our national honour.

The Filipino people know full well that Malaysia began fermenting trouble in Mindanao by proxy immediately after the Philippines' Operation Merdeka, the failed physical attempt to recover Sabah in 1968. Malaysia efforts to sabotage stability in Mindanao have continued to this day, under different disguises perhaps but are aimed at distabilising Muslim Mindanao just the same. Generations of Mindanaoans know that Malaysia formed, trained, nurtured, funded secessionist groups right in Sabah. Malaysia objective: To keep the Philippines busy so that the country and its succeeding administrators could not turn around to re-claim Sabah.

Today, despite the change in Malaysia tactics, i.e., playing the 'goodies', engineering a peace deal, photo ops with GPH's Marvic Leonen and Teresita Deles, etc., their objective has not changed. On the pretext of being the loving 'big brother' peacenickers, Malaysia's bottom aim is to force us to accept the Sabah claim death warrant that they have been trying to serve us these last 4 decades and to bury our sovereignty claim to Sabah with finality. And we are absolutely certain that our Government today is aware that this is Malaysia's true motive. President Aquino cannot claim ignorance of Malaysia motives -- he has possession of intel reports on his desk on everything that has happened and continues to happen in Mindanao.

Question today: Should President Aquino's Government now officially accept to kill our Sabah claim in the name of "true peace" which, in reality, is appeasement by another name?

If national Government's true objective is peace overall, we recommend that President Aquino address the issue once and for all. You don't have to have a PhD in political science or in history to understand that the Sabah sovereignty issue with Malaysia will continue to be the key factor in the determination of our brothers in Mindanao to secede from the Republic to join Sabah, potentially under Malaysia umbrella.

We therefore insist that if President Aquino is serious about this 'peace deal' with the MILF (too bad he's done it without the MNLF and the others) -- and not merely to gain political "pogi" points, he must not shirk from the task of doing what is genuinely good for the people of Mindanao: have the courage to either tell the Malaysians "to bugger off" or to tell the nation that we are formally renouncing our sovereignty claim to Sabah.

By Anne de Bretagne
For the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum
16 October 2012

A MUST READ: Undertanding our Failures 
By Teo Calasanz
Unsung hero, Operation Merdeka
For the Philippine Sabah Claim Forum
15 October 2012

To President Aquino: It's never too late to show even a sliver of courage

A letter to the President of the Philippines (in picture)

Subject: The Kuala Lumpur sponsored soon-to-be circus trial of the eight Filipinos charged with terrorism, including two of them who were also charged with waging a war against the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (King of Malaysia).

Mr President, 

You virtually went on bended knees crawling before China authorities to spare the lives of some convicted drug mules on the pretext that every Filipino life is important.

But sadly, that personal doctrine of yours (or was that perhaps just for show?) went straight into the rubbish bin when it came to Sabah and to your friendship with Najib. You implied that your peace deal with the MILF which Kuala Lumpur has been engineering for you - but which was, in reality, a Malaysian strategical ploy for you to bury the Sabah claim - took premium over the lives of the peaceful Suluks who went to Sabah to stake their claim.

Instead of reassuring the Suluks, you disowned and publicly humiliated them on nationwide television, parroting the lines of Najib who literally was crapping all over you, over your manhood, over your dignity - AND THIS NATION's DIGNITY, even as Malaysians themselves were surprised that you had become Najib's spokesman.

Incidentally, Mr President, you may not know it - or may have chosen to ignore it, your friend and bogus "peace" engineer Najib Razak is the son of former Malaysia prime minister Tunku Abdul Razak who hated PH so much after your own Daddy (RIP) denounced Operation Merdeka back in the late 60s that he (Najib's Daddy) began funding the MNLF and MILF rebellion in the South.

Mr President, lest you forget, it was a foreign military with seven battalions of troops armed to the teeth who, upon orders of a foreign government (never mind if the leader of that foreign government was your best friend), launched the attack on the Filipino Tausugs in Tanduo and not the other way around as you and your brilliant advisers would like the public to believe.

Today, you stand accused in the court of public opinion of betrayal of trust, of violating your oath as president of the Republic, of de facto burying the nation's Sabah claim, of inaction in time of crisis, and even of cowardice, but Mr President, you can still redeem some of the remaining shreds of dignity this nation has left by fighting for our people who are facing the wrath of a foreign government and its armies that are occupying Sabah which, as you have now been told, is Philippine territory by PH law by virtue of Republic Act 5446.

If you choose to continue ignoring the plight and the human rights abuses heaped against our fellowmen in Sabah by a foreign government and its armed component, heaven help you Mr President but you will go down in history as the most ignoble and morally corrupt leader this country has ever known. But if you turn around now and show a brave face against the officials of Kuala Lumpur in defence of your people, you just might end up a hero in public eyes.

Think about it Mr President! It's never too late to show even a sliver of courage.

Thank you, Mr President.

We remain,

~~ Defenders of the Philippine Sabah and Spratly Claims
21 March 2013

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REPORT: The eight accused Filipinos were among 107 suspected Sulu gunmen or suspected local supporters of the Kirams who were arrested by Malaysian security forces in sweeps in the districts of Lahad Datu, Tawau, Kunak, Sandakan and Semporna.
Radio 24 confirmed that as in Wednesday’s arraignment, none of the accused entered any plea.

Radio 24 said Malaysian Attorney General Abdul Gani Patail led prosecution.

Like the Sabah-based radio station, Radio 24 said no lawyer assisted the accused during both proceedings.

Radio 24 reported the judge as ordering the attrorney general to determine whether defense lawyers will be “appointed by the Bar Council of Malaysia, the Philippine government or the accused themselves.”

Read more: http://globalnation.inquirer.net/69799/seven-of-eight-filipinos-brought-to-sabah-court-in-straightjackets#ixzz2OAkpCkWJ 

HOW LOW WILL PRESIDENT AQUINO, PH GOVERNMENT GO TO APPEASE KUALA LUMPUR?

Philippine Army gives bronze medals to
Malaysian troops part of the outgoing
International Monitoring Team batch 7
in recognition of their efforts to monitor peace
between the Philippine government
and the MILF. (Photo by Ferdinand Cabrera) 

REPORT: Malaysian military peace monitors in PH despite standoff [the conflict is also known as Malaysia military's murder of Filipino citizens in Sabah] (Please see report below)

In Mindanao, outgoing Malaysian troops acting as "peacekeepers" for Malaysia-engineered GPH-MILF Bangsamoro homeland in the making are awarded Bronze medals by Philippine Army and are replaced by fresh Malaysian armed forces troops headed by a Malaysian general.

This is happening as Kuala Lumpur officials order Malaysia military to "wipe out" all Filipino Tausugs involved in the 'Sabah stand off.' 

JUST HOW LOW WILL THIS GOVERNMENT GO TO APPEASE kUALA LUMPUR? What is our Government doing while our fellow Filipinos are being chased by foreign troops in Sabah which, by Philippine law (Republic Act 5446), is a Philippine territory? Why does our Govt allow Malaysian military (disguised as Peacekeepers) to take control of Mindanao territory while PH citizens are being massacred in Sabah by the same Malaysian forces?

Govt should suspend permission for any and all Malaysian military (even under pretense of peacekeeping in Mindanao) missions and should not allow Kuala Lumpur troops to walk about in our territory while Malaysian forces are killing our people and are committing human rights abuses on Filipinos in Sabah.

It is absolutely insane to allow these Malaysian military troops on Mindanao while there is even the remotest conflict involving the citizens of the Republic on a mission to recoer their homeland and Malaysia troops. It is like allowing Kuala Lumpur military to build a beachhead into our territory with total impunity so they could prepare for a potential Malaysia armed forces invasion operation of our territory! INSANE!

Completely insane! PH even goes as far as to award outgoing "peacekeeping" Malaysian troops medals while Filipino Tausug fighting for Sabah homeland are getting murdered by Malaysia military forces! Does Govt not realise that these Malaysian 'Bronze Medalists' (courtesy of PH Army) just might be assigned to Sabah to kill our fellow Filipino Tasugs in Sabah?

HOW LOW WILL THIS GOVERNMENT GO TO APPEASE KUALA LUMPUR?

~~ Defenders of the Philippine Sabah and Spratly Claims 

=========

NEWS REPORT BY RAPPLER.COM POSTED ON 03/11/2013 6:51 PM | UPDATED 03/11/2013 6:50 PM

DATU ODIN SINSUAT, Maguindanao – Despite tensions stemming from the month-long Sabah standoff, Malaysia sent a new set of troops to Mindanao as peace monitors. 

The troops arrived over the weekend to replace the outgoing batch of peace monitors whose one-year tour of duty under the International Monitoring Team (IMT) batch 7 expired. 

Malaysia is brokering a peace deal with the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). The peace process is now in the fine-tuning phase, with the recent signing of one of the annexes on the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro. 

Four of the 19 contingents are from the combined Royal Army of Malaysia, Royal Navy, Royal Police and civilian components. They arrived as part of the advanced party of the Malaysian monitors. 

IMT batch 8 headed by Maj Gen Dato Fadzil Bin Mokhtar received a welcome during a farewell dinner for IMT batch 7. 

Mokhtar addressed questions on whether or not the Sabah standoff will affect his team’s mission. 

“I don’t think so. We arrived in wrong timing [but] we have no apprehension at all [that] this new tour of duty will be tarnished in relation to the Sabah issue. We are clear on our mission here: to continue to monitor the ceasefire,” said Mokhtar. 

Outgoing head-of-mission of IMT batch 7, MGen Dato Abdul Rahim Bin Mohd Yusuff echoed the view. 

“IMT is concerned only [with] the directive by the Philippine government and the MILF to monitor the ceasefire,” Yusuff said. 

The Malaysian troops arrived amid criticism from some sectors of Philippine society about the crackdown on Filipinos in Sabah. Refugees from Sabah have reported abuses and atrocities supposedly committed by Malaysian security forces. 

A total of 52 militants and 8 Malaysian police officers have been shot dead and 85 people have been arrested for possible links to the followers of the Sultanate of Sulu. 

The standoff began exactly one month ago when the followers of Sultan Jamalul Kiram III crossed over to Sabah to assert their historical claim over the territory. 

Full story in this link http://www.rappler.com/nation/23573-malaysian-peace-monitors-in-ph-despite-standoff

IS THE PRESIDENT WAITING FOR MALAYSIA MILITARY TO CROSS INTO SULU?

If the President continues to support - and by his inaction implicitly lauds - Prime Minister Najib's 'slaughter-the-Filipino-Tausugs-to-the-last-man-in-Sabah' doctrine, Najib will be emboldened to send Malaysia troops to seize every walking male Tausug within Sulu itself. Is this what this President want to happen?

The brightest of the bright advisers of this not-so-bright president are equally to blame for the way this Sultanate Sabah business has been and is still being mishandled.

Don't the bright members of the President's entourage realise that Najib and his Kuala Lumpur cohorts will take President Aquino's wishy-washy stand, asking the Filipino nation - in time of national crisis - a most stupid question "But what do you want me to do?" as a license to go ahead and commit human rights abuses to every Filipino in Sabah?

Malaysia police and troops have begun rounding up Sabahan MyKad holders of Filipino Tausug extraction. And only God knows what abuses are being inflicted on them by the Malaysia Internal Security Act agents and on the displaced Filipinos who have no official identities in Sabah?

Don't the advisers to the President realise that this tetanised attitude of the President is a go signal for Malaysia to infiltrate Southern Philippines? That Najib, not a bright man himself, might take it in his head to attempt a much bolder step if he thinks Aquino has his back? Must the President wait until Malaysia military elements have crossed the Sea and landed on Sulu to snatch Tausugs before he realises that Najib's intentions are far from being honourable?

We need not remind the President and his brightest of the bright advisers that members of the Malaysian armed forces led by a senior star-ranking military officer are already in Mindanao for purposes of 'supervising' the Malaysia-engineered GPH-MILF framework agreement. It is easy to use that excuse to bring in Malaysian elements to do some serious dirty work.

Today, even Government doesn't know exactly how many Malaysian military people are already in Mindanao. But we have no doubt that immediately after the landing of the Sultanate Tausug fighters in Lahad Datu, Najib and Home Minister Hisham sent Malaysian military police intel and military elements  in disguise to Sulu and to the neighbouring provinces to "monitor" events in Southern Mindanao. They will not be dressed in military camouflage uniform but will be there.

The President has a duty to the country. He swore an oath to protect and defend the citizens of this country. There are no 'buts,' no 'becauses', no 'waits'... He can still stop the carnage and the abuses being inflicted on Filipinos, figthers and civilians, in Sabah by calling a Malaysia-PH summit to face the problem that has haunted the two countries for 51 years: the Philippine Sabah claim and the Republic's contractual obligation to represent the Sultanate of Sulu, the Tausugs and the Filipino nation in the International Court of Justice.

Mr President, we have just answered your "But what do you want me to do?" Now, get bloody cracking!

~~ Admins, Philippine Sabah Claim Forum 
07 March 2013

Poster by PSCF