MAGUINDANAO – President Rodrigo Duterte vowed to “work very hard” to address historical injustices committed against the Moro people adding further that the southern Philippine peace talks will be inclusive.
“I plead to all Filipinos listening now to understand the problem,” Duterte said, referring to the centuries-old Bangsamoro struggle. The President was in Simuay in Sultan Kudarat town in Maguindanao province on November 27 for the two-day Bangsamoro Assembly.
The event, organized by the Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), was attended by more than a million people that included high-ranking government officials, nongovernmental organizations, indigenous peoples (IPs), religious leaders, and representatives from other groups such as the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).
The assembly was aimed at drumming up support for the Bangsamoro Basic Law’s (BBL) immediate enactment. For his part, Governor Mujiv Hataman of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) said he is one with the Bangsamoro people.
“Pumunta ako dito hindi lamang upang magpakita ng simpatya at suporta sa inyo, kundi naniniwala po ako na kabilang ako at kasama niyo ako sa kampanyang ito,” Hataman said, reiterating his commitment to vacate his post when the BBL is enacted.
Several officials and sectoral leaders also delivered their messages of support for BBL including 1st district of Maguindanao and Cotabato City Representative Bai Sandra Sema; Tawi-Tawi Representative Ruby Sahali; Maguindanao Governor Esmael Mangudadatu; MNLF chairman Yusoph Jikiri; Cardinal Orlando Quevedo, Bishop Noel Pantoja of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches; BTC Commissioner Timuay Melanio Ulama for the IPs; Datu Midpantao Midtimbang; and Aleem Ali Solaiman.
Murad Ibrahim, MILF chairman, said his group must now transition into a social movement. “From fortification of camps with arms, we venture into the development of our communities with new sets of learned skills and prepare the leadership from a revolutionary mindset into transformative leaders and managers,” Ibrahim said, adding, the MILF will continuously push for the enactment of the BBL “because we are convinced of the justness and legitimacy of the Bangsamoro cause.”
Ghazali Jaafar, MILF vice chairman for political affairs, appealed to Duterte to expedite the passage of the BBL. “We strongly appeal to the President to expedite the passage of the BBL,” he said. “The BBL is the Bangsamoro’s articulation of self-determination.”(Bureau of Public Information)
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