04/02/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly Curiously missing in the enumeration, however, is the Constitution. The omission could only mean that the parties intended the MOA-AD not to be bound by the fundamental law. The Constitution is supposed to be the one to conform to the MOA-AD, and not the other way around.[15] There can be no doubt as to the marching orders by the President. In negotiating with the MILF, the GRP Panel should use the Constitution as the parameter. Too, the preservation of the territorial integrity of the Republic of the Philippines should be maintained at all times. The GRP Panel, however, appears to have failed to follow those instructions. The commitment of the GRP Panel to the MILF to change the Constitution to conform to the MOA-AD violates the doctrine of separation of powers. Under the present constitutional scheme, the President is a mere bystander as far as the process of constitutional amendment or revision is concerned. The President is deprived of any participation because the Constitution[16] only allows three political agents, namely: (1) the Congress, upon a vote of three-fourths of all its members; (2) a constitutional convention;[17] and (3) the people through initiative upon a petition of at least twelve (12) per centum of the total number of registered voters, of which every legislative district must be represented by at least three per centum of its registered voters. Thus, since the President is bereft of any power in effecting constitutional change, the GRP Panel, who acts under the imprimatur of the President, cannot commit to the MILF that the Constitution will be amended or revised in order to suit the MOAAD. That would be a violation of the doctrine of separation of powers. Nemo potest facere per alium quod non potest facere per directum. No one is allowed to do indirectly what he is prohibited to do directly. Sinuman ay hindi pinapayagan na gawin nang di tuwiran ang ipinagbabawal na gawin nang tuwiran. The MOA-AD contains numerous provisions that appear unconstitutional. Respondents claim that the contents of the MOA-AD are mere concession points for further negotiations. The MILF, however, publicly announced that the MOA-AD is already a "done deal" and its signing a mere formality.[18] I find both claims of respondents and the MILF difficult to swallow. Neither position is acceptable. The GRP Panel has not presented any proof to buttress its point that, indeed, the parties intended the MOA-AD to be mere concession points for further negotiations. The MILF have not also shown proof to support its claim. In this regard, the MOA-AD should be interpreted according to its face value. Having said that, let me point out the defects of the MOA-AD. First . The MOA-AD creates a new political subdivision, the so-called Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE). This is not permitted by the Constitution, which limits the political subdivisions of the Republic of the Philippines into provinces, cities, municipalities, barangays and autonomous regions.[19] Worse, the BJE also trenches on the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/47263 163/203