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A self proclaimed "international lawyer" who tried to seek the presidency twice has questioned before the Supreme Court the historic Bangsamoro Framework Agreement, which newly appointed Associate Justice Marvic Leonen helped craft.
In his petition, lawyer Elly Velez 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 Malaysias, who the petitioner claimed stand to benefit the most from the deal.
Under the preliminary framework signed in October, a 15-member transition commission would be formed to draft the laws that would govern the Bangsamoro, to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
President Benigno Aquino III has described the ARMM as a "failed experiment" because corruption and poverty remained unmitigated in the region.
President Benigno Aquino III has described the ARMM as a "failed experiment" because corruption and poverty remained unmitigated in the region.
The framework was created with Leonen, former dean of University of the Philippines College of Law, acting as chief negotiator for the Philippone government. Leonen was named SC associate justice on Nov. 21.
Malaysians' role
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.
Pamatong said the agreement should be declared unconstitutional, stressing that it has been "generated by foreign and local interests."
"The framework... concerns paramount governmental and national interests that have not been subjected to open and serious public discussions and mandatorily required by applicable provisions of the fundamental charter," he added.
He said since the Mindanao population is made up of around 90 percent Christian Malays, the latter shouldbhave been consulted with.
"The preparation of the Framework Agreement was secretly done in the plush hotels of West Malaysia, the capital city of the indubitably enemy country that previously openly seized and annexed two Philippine territories, viz.: North Borneo and a Spratly Island," said Pamatong.
He said Malaysia is the "real enemy" and not the the MILF and that the rebel group was merely as "Malaysian proxy."
"Understandably, the "mediator" - which is definitely an enemy of the Republic of the Philippines - provided the Philippine negotiators with all the conveniences and amenities fit for Kings, Queens and other royal personalities and - who knows - billions of dollars that even the most moral and religious perspn could nor resist," he added.
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 rallied and disrupting traffic in Manila after scaterring 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 by was again excluded by the poll body. — RSJ, GMA News.
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