MANILA, Philippines – “That’s a very unfair accusation.”

These were the words of Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda when asked if the signing of the wealth-sharing annex between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) was rushed for President Benigno Aquino III’s 4th State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Monday, July 22.

Discussions between the government peace panel and the MILF on wealth sharing between the national government and the envisioned Bangsamoro political entity was originally scheduled for 4 days. It was later extended to two more days.

Both sides finally came to an agreement 6 days later.

Lacierda said this did not mean the signing of the annex was rushed. Lacierda attended meetings in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and said the SONA was never mentioned in the talks.

“Both sides were trying to come up with a doable, deliverable wealth-sharing agreement and at no instance, at no instance, did the State of the Nation Address ever come up in the discussions. It was so far removed. It was never even discussed. I can assure you of that because I was present in the negotiations,” he told reporters on Wednesday, July 17.

He said any talk linking the signing to the SONA “is an injustice to the hard work that the panel, the President, the Cabinet poured” into the negotiations.

Lacierda also said that when talks first started, critics also predicted that all 4 annexes would be signed before the SONA. “Now that [only] the wealth sharing was signed, they’re saying we rushed it for SONA,” he mused.

The Annex on Revenue Generation and Wealth Sharing, signed on July 13, came 5 months after the first annex, the Annex on Transitional Arrangements and Modalities, was signed in February.

Two more annexes – on power sharing and on normalization – await discussion and approval to complete the comprehensive agreement. The government panel is almost certain these will be signed within the year. – Rappler.com