SPLINTER: Instead of waiting for MNLF chair Nur Misuari to do it, Palace negotiator Teresita Deles cleared yesterday the Moro National Liberation Front for the raging firefight in Zamboanga, blaming instead supposed marauders of an MNLF “splinter” group.

As in the asexual reproduction of the amoeba, Muslim rebel bands about to realize their quest for liberation invariably split and produce “splinter” groups demanding additional concessions from the Manila central government.

Malacañang appears to be trying to mollify Misuari, a key player ignored by the Aquino administration that is moving to give a rival rebel group — the Moro Islamic Liberation Front — a Bangsamoro carved out of Mindanao as the MNLF watches from the sidelines.

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EXCLUSIVE PEACE: The fighting in Zamboanga that had claimed lives and displaced innocent civilians may have been an offshoot of the lack of INCLUSIVE PEACE, by Malacañang’s negotiating exclusive peace with the MILF to the marginalization of other Muslim stakeholders.

Previous President Gloria Arroyo also tried to give the MILF that same autonomous region under a similar agreement, but the deal was struck down by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional.

As I see it, the followup attempt of President Noynoy Aquino is likely to meet a similar fate. But he could then blame the Supreme Court for his failure to deliver the promised Bangsamoro to the MILF.

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‘KANYA-KANYA’: Yesterday’s “EDSA Tayo” rally did not turn out to be “tayo-tayo”, but “kanya-kanya”. The organizers failed to make it an Inclusive Protest – although they seemed not to have intended it in the first place – embracing the factions that showed up.

The moment the Church-backed rallyists gathered by themselves in the EDSA Shrine, they effectively shut out others who were primed not really to pray, but to protest and ventilate their frustrations over the corrupt regime.

As expected, the crowd of almost 2,000 was smaller than the crowd that flocked to the Luneta last Aug. 26 to protest the raiding of the pork barrel, including Priority Development Assistance Funds.

Yesterday’s choice of date (a weekday when most people are in school or at work) and site (a busy traffic artery) also contributed to the failure to gather a mammoth crowd and gain focus. Then there is the creeping problem of mass action fatigue.

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PLACARDS BANNED: An irritant was added by the confiscation of placards and banners by the police. Many people could not understand how the carrying of posters without illegal or libelous messages was suddenly a crime or prohibited act.

While those in the prayer group could meditate and talk all they want in the shrine, they have nothing to do with what the public does on the sidewalk and the road outside.

Adding to the tension was the vigorous action of radical groups demanding the scrapping of both congressional (PDAF) and presidential pork — plus the removal of officials and those who had stolen public funds.

The reported special operations seemed to have succeeded in blurring the rally’s focus and blunting its impact on a worried Aquino administration. Voices for the simultaneous scrapping of congressional and presidential pork were hardly heard.

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DREDGING FOR FREE: The flashfloods the other night that again crippled a large area of the national capital after a downpour highlighted the continuing search for an integrated solution to the metrowide problem.

We were intrigued by revelations of a group of Filipino investors with multinational partners who want to do strategic dredging projects in and outside Metro Manila for free. Yes, at no cost to the government!

The business secret is that while they are ready to do it for free, they want exclusive access to the waste materials they can get from the operations for conversion into something profitable.

Problem is they do not know if the government is interested and which agency they have to talk to. Is it the department of environment or public works, or local governments, or whichever?

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AUDIT CHECK: Talking of pork barrel and vanishing funds for dredging, one problem is that at audit time, it is difficult to check physically what had been dredged since the work area is already covered by the flow of silt or, in Pampanga, by lahar.

So why not a contract at no cost to the government? Many local communities dreaming of the dredging of their clogged waterways may find this interesting.

One case in point is the Yawa River project in Albay. The river has been heavily silted by volcanic debris from Mt. Mayon and badly needs to be dredged. The project is being assailed by the Church for lack of transparency.

As debates over the dredging raged, a former congressman complained that contractors had claimed completion when only 25 percent had been done. There is also a move to impose a “selective ban” on dredging in the province.

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PLACER DEPOSITS: In Pampanga, the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo deposited lahar in the Pasig-Potrero and other rivers. Strong currents on the swollen river recently damaged the approach to a bridge in Porac town in the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway.

The damage has been repaired and the Porac segment reopened, but the scouring has placed in question the integrity of other bridges.

Rivers and waterways have what is called “placer deposits”. These are minerals of value that have accumulated over the years. In dredging, it is possible that these valuable minerals are also extracted.

Instead of gambling with people’s money on dredging, the government may want to look at the possibility of attracting private sector investors into mining these placer deposits in our rivers and waterways.