By Manny Piñol
Presidential frontrunner Rody Duterte today asked leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to maintain the peace with government in spite of the non-passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) assuring them of a new set-up to end the conflict in the Southern Philippines if he wins the presidency.
“I know you are disappointed but let me propose another set up just to make everyone happy,” a media statement released by the Duterte Media Group quoted the Davao City Mayor as telling the MILF leadership during his visit to the rebel group’s camp in Darapanan, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao Saturday.
Meeting with members of the MILF’s central committee led by Ghazali Jaafar before proceeding to a rally in Cotabato City, Duterte said if elected president, he would work out for the realisation of the Moro people’s dream of self-governance in the context of Federalism.
He said the derailed BBL which was a product of years of negotiations between the government and the MILF could serve as the template for the Federal set up in other regions of the country.
Under the Federal System of Government which Duterte has been advocating, at least 14 Federal States are proposed to be created all over the country with immense political and economic powers.
Two Federal States are being proposed by Duterte for the Muslim tribes of the Southern Philippines, one in the Central Mindanao area and another for the provinces in the Sulu Sea.
In the BBL set up, the autonomous government would retain as much as 75% of the earnings, a sharing which Duterte said is acceptable to him as it would ensure greater financial independence for the Federal States.
He, however, indicated that supervision over the police and the armed forces would have to remain with the Central Government in the early stages of the implementation of the Federal System.
These powers would then be gradually turned over to the Federal States, especially the Bangsamoro State, once the local leaders have proven that they could handle the police and security functions.
Duterte had earlier indicated that while he supported the concept of self-governance in the Bangsamoro “to correct the historical wrongs,” he was not in favour of allowing the Bangsamoro Government to have its own police force and armed forces.
Jaafar, on the other hand, assured Duterte that the Bangsamoro Government would be “democratic and not Islamic.”
He also said the MILF supports Duterte’s hardline stance against illegal drugs and criminality.
Duterte’s visit to the rebel camp yesterday made him the first Presidential candidate in the 2016 elections to meet with MILF leaders.
He earlier said that he wins the Presidency, he will seek an acceptable agreement with rebel groups like the MILF, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Communist New People’s Army (NPA) to end the internal conflict in the Philippines which has killed thousands and displaced tens of thousands of families.
From the rebel camp, Duterte and his group proceeded to Cotabato City for a huge rally where people waited for hours before his arrival.
Duterte assured the Muslims of the Southern Philippines that if he wins the Presidency, the days of neglect of the Moro tribes by the national government would finally end.
The Davao City Mayor’s grandmother on his mother’s side was a Maranao, one of the tribes in the Southern Philippines which embraced Islam brought in by Islamic missionaries in the 14th Century.
(Photo showing Duterte with MILF leaders taken by John Unson, Philippine Star; Duterte in Cotabato City photos taken by Duterte Media Group.)
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