THE Moro National
Liberation Front, led by Nur Misuari, accused the government and the Moro
Islamic Liberation Front of entering into a “sinister conspiracy at the expense
of the country’s patrimony.”
MNLF spokesman
Absalom Cerveza urged lawmakers deliberating on the Bangsamoro Basic Law to
look into allegations that government and MILF officials accepted bribes from Malaysia to forge a peace agreement that would
allow foreign exploitation of Mindanao ’s
natural resources.
“Aquino entered
into some kind of an agreement with Malaysia
for them to explore natural gas when he (Aquino) became president,” Cerveza
claimed, referring to the 288-hectare Liguasan Marsh that straddles the
provinces of Maguindanao, North Cotabato , and
Sultan Kudarat.
“The government
and Malaysia had a deal to
grant Malaysia
The exploration
by Malaysian engineers actually started in the 1990’s when the MNLF was still
negotiating their peace with the government, he said.
So the MILF
disapproved of the exploration because the MILF was still negotiating its
Framework Agreement with the government and MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim
asked Aquino to stop the drilling.
“The MILF didn’t
want Liguasan Marsh as the site of the exploration because they will be
displaced since their forces are concentrated in the area,” Cerveza said.
But Murad
mysteriously agreed not to oppose the exploitation of Liguasan Marsh after he
allegedly met secretly with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak in Malaysia
days before the signing of the Framework Agreement in exchange for 10 billion
Malaysian ringgits (P123 billion).
Cerveza suspects
that the MILF acceded to the Malaysian business targets in Liguasan Marsh after
Malaysia
“The environment
suddenly changes following Malaysia
He said that the
exploration will cover thousands of hectares of land in Tawi-Tawi which is rich
in oil and gas deposits.
The deals were
suspended by the government after report of the secret meeting emerged in
October 2012, Cerveza said.
The government
even admitted that it was suspending the bidding process of oil exploration
contracts in the Liguasan Marsh area pending a wealth-sharing annex for the
Framework Agreement.
“Chairman Murad
is correct. Wealth-sharing is one of the annexes that we have to finish...Of
course we have to finish first the negotiations for all the annexes,” Aquino
said at that time.
“From what [then]
Energy Secretary Rene Almendras explained to me, we have not yet opened the
areas for bidding,” the President added.
But despite the
President’s statement, the areas cited by Murad are actually covered by the
Department of Energy’s Petroleum and Energy Contracting Round 4 which was
launched last year.
Three contracts
are currently up for bidding: Area 11 covering 600,000 hectares in Cotabato;
Area 12 covering 456,000 hectares in Cotabato; and Area 15 covering 482,000
hectares in Sulu Sea .
Murad said based
on available data, the resources in the Cotabato basin are estimated to be 158
million barrels of oil, with 10 wildcat wells drilled in the areas already.
Area 11 in
Cotabato received two bids from Forum Pacific and Helios Mining and Energy,
which were both accepted.
Area 12 also in
Cotabato received a bid from three companies of which two were accepted. Dil
Moro Energy Corp. and Min Energy Pty. Ltd were accepted while Monte Oro
Resources Energy Inc.’s bid was rejected.
Area 15 in the Sulu Sea drew the most bids of which three complied. The
bids of The Philodrill Corp and Philex Petroleum Corp.; Mitra Energy Ltd.
(with Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Co. and Tap Oil) and Forum Pacific were accepted
but the Department of Energy rejected the bid of NorAsian.
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