Will SMPH accede
to TRO lifting?

While the Court of Appeals already lifted its Temporary Restraining Order against the provincial government and the Ayala Land the lease and purchase of 7.7 hectare prime property at the Capitol, a lot hinges on whether the SM Prime Holdings Corporation will accept that debacle.

Should it file another TRO petition with the Supreme Court? That is a question that still hangs over the issue of whether the provincial government and Ayala Corporation can sign their agreement on the property.

The provincial government, or course, is expected to be ready with its counter-argument on why it should go ahead with the agreement.

But, as already said before, this could result in further delays in the sale and lease of the property. That will further delay the plan of the provincial government to have Ayala land construct an entirely new landscape in the area for the people of Bacolod and Negros Occidental.

Legal delays are the ammunition of those opposing the bidding. A lot will depend on the statesmanship and the mental attitude of SM’s top honchos.

* * *

That’s exactly the same situation the government is caught in now with the MILF. President Benigno Aquino III had noted the meeting in Tokyo with the top MILF leaders led by Murad as having established a breakthrough in its peace negotiations.

But that was just an interpretation of the meeting. Murad, on the other hand, has been on television several times insisting that the government had virtually forced the issue back to square one.

He pointed out that the consensus agreement previously entered into by the government peace panel and MILF had been embodied in the agreement which the Supreme Court ruled as unconstitutional.

Although the government had earlier dismissed the sub-state asked by the MILF as not negotiable because it is unconstitutional and may require amending the constitution. Murad, however, has been insisting on using the same term “sub-state”. He defined it as a sort of federal state.

But since our constitution provides for a unitary state, the establishment of a sub-state per se may require amending the constitution.
          But, as pointed out by the MILF leader, rejection of the government position does not mean scuttling the negotiations.

That’s the only enlightening point of the discussion – that the MILF and the   Bangsamoro are not demanding independence or secession but only a federal state with local autonomy.

In short, despite the optimistic prognosis, it means that a negotiated peace is still far from the drawing board despite the optimistic predictions by the President.

That simply means, we still have to pray hard for both sides to explore all other avenues to reach an agreement and restored peace in Mindanao.

I have been wondering why the police remains quiet in identifying the two alleged suspected killers of Niel Jimena, the Iloilo broadcaster killed in Barangay Tabigue, E.B. Magalona, last August. 22.

If the charges are to be filed with the corresponding motives, then its time the police bare who the suspected killers are.

Besides, as pointed out by Provincial Police Supt. Allan Guisihan, if the police are trying to establish the motive of Jimena’s assassination, the best way to get that is to precisely name the suspects so that those in the know may come forward with their knowledge on the reason behind the killing.

If the police keep their identities secret, then who will come forward with what they know about the possible motive for the killing?

Just commonsense, no?*

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