04/02/2020 E-Library - Information At Your Fingertips: Printer Friendly however, are relegated to the realm of speculation with the cancellation of the signing of the MOA-AD and the commitment that it shall not be signed in its present or any other form. Coupled with the subsequent dissolution of the GRP negotiating panel, the government could not have communicated and conveyed any stronger message, short of totally scuttling the whole peace process, that it was not accepting the points covered by the aborted MOA-AD. Government motivation for disavowing the aborted agreement is patently evident from Executive Order No. 3 that outlines the government's visions and intentions in the conduct of peace negotiations. That the GRP negotiating panel came up with a different result is a matter between the Executive and the negotiating panel and may be the immediate reason why the Executive's response was to forthwith dissolve the negotiating panel. iii. GRP Obligation to Discuss Ancestral Domain A consistent concern that runs through the ponencia is that the Philippines is bound under the GRP-MILF Tripoli Agreement on Peace signed by the government and the MILF in June 2001 to have an agreement on the Bangsamoro ancestral domain. This concern led the ponencia to conclude that the government decision not to sign the MOA-AD will not render the present petitions moot. In other words, the MOA-AD will recur and hence should be reviewed now. A basic flaw in this conclusion is its unstated premise that the Philippines is bound to come to an agreement on ancestral domain, thereby equating the commitment to discuss this issue with the obligation to have an agreement. To quote the ponencia's cited Tripoli Agreement of June 2001,[16] the provision on Ancestral Domain Aspect reads: On the aspect of ancestral domain, the Parties, in order to address the humanitarian and economic needs of the Bangsamoro people and preserve their social and cultural heritage and inherent rights over their ancestral domain, agree that the same be discussed further by the Parties in their next meeting." [Emphasis supplied.] Under these terms, it is plain that the GRP's commitment extends only to the discussion of the ancestral domain issue. The agreement to discuss, however, does not bind the GRP to come to an agreement; the GRP is merely bound to try to reach an agreement or compromise. Implicit in this commitment is that the Philippines can always say "no" to unacceptable proposals or walk away from the discussion if it finds the proposed terms unacceptable. This option has not been removed from the Philippines under any of the duly signed agreements on the Mindanao peace process. I believe that this is the message that should come out in bold relief, not the ponencia's misreading of the June 2001 agreement. With the present MOA-AD effectively scuttled, the parties are back to the above quoted agreement under which the GRP bound itself to discuss ancestral domain with the MILF as part of the overall peace process. If the ponencia's fear relates to the substance of these future talks, these matters are not for this Court to rule upon as they belong to the realm of policy - a matter for other branches of government other than the Judiciary to determine. This Court can only speak with full force and authority on ripe, live, and actual controversies involving violations of constitutional or statutory rights.[17] As a rule, courts look back to past actions, using the elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocsfriendly/1/47263 124/203