FOR laying the groundwork for the dismemberment of the Philippines , President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo faces the possibility of being impeached for culpable violation of the Constitution, Supreme Court justices and lawmakers said Saturday. The magistrates were referring to the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain (MOA-AD) that the Arroyo government would have signed with the Moro Islamic Liberation (MILF) in Malaysia last Aug. 5 in the presence of foreign ambassadors and the Organization of Islamic Countries had it not been stopped by the Supreme Court a day earlier. One of the magistrates, Justice Antonio Carpio, noted that such an agreement would have compelled the Philippines to change its Constitution as would have been demanded and required by international laws. Carpio said had the Supreme Court not intervened, the signing of the agreement would have triggered irreversible repercussions beyond the control of the Tribunal. The MOA-AD provides for the creation of the Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE), a new state within Philippine territory. Under the MOA-AD, the BJE shall have its own legislature whose laws will not be subject to Philippine laws passed by Congress. The BJE shall also have its own courts whose decisions will not be reviewable by the Supreme Court. As the rulers of the BJE, the MILF shall also be empowered to “build, develop and maintain its own…police and internal security force.” Moreover, the Philippine government shall recognize the right of the BJE to enter into agreements with any friendly country and the option to establish and open trade missions in foreign countries with which it has economic cooperation agreements. Ferry bomb suspect held Police have arrested one of the alleged masterminds of a ferry bombing that killed 116 people four years ago, a Philippine anti-terrorism official said Saturday. Ruben Pestano Lavilla Jr. was deported to Manila on Saturday after being arrested last month in Bahrain, said Anti-Terrorism Council Chairman Eduardo Ermita, who is also the most senior member of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's Cabinet. – With agencies __
