By EDD K. USMAN
President Arroyo has issued Executive Order (EO) 496 placing four government agencies "under the supervision" of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP), in preparation for the signing of a final peace agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
The President, through EO 496, a copy of which reached the Bulletin, placed the Mindanao Economic Development Council (MEDCo), Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Social Fund for Peace and Development (ASFPD), Mindanao Peace and Development Fund (MPDF), and the Office on Muslim Affairs (OMA) under OPAPP.
House Deputy Speaker Gerry Salapuddin, in a statement, said it may be "well-intentioned but out of place and uncalled for," particularly in the case of the OMA and MPDF, which replaced the defunct Southern Philippines Development Authority (SPDA).
"In the Final Peace Agreement (FPA) entered into between the government and MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front), those two offices were supposed to be placed under the ARMM...but did not materialize," said Salapuddin.
"In the case of OMA, being an office for Muslim affairs, in no way it be placed under one agency or bureau run by non-Muslim because whether they like it or not, the OMA caters to the socio-economic, cultural, and religious well-being of the Muslims in this country," said Salapuddin.
The OPAPP is responsible for implementing and supervising the government’s comprehensive peace initiatives based on EO 3 signed on Feb. 28, 2001.
Mrs. Arroyo said the presidential adviser on the peace process, who, at present, is Secretary Jesus Dureza, "shall oversee and whenever appropriate, have the authority to direct and or manage projects related to the government’s comprehensive peace and development efforts."
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