MUSLIM leaders banded together to declare their support behind the federalization of Mindanao under the Duterte administration.
The Muslim leaders, Amina Rasul, professor Moner Bajunaid, lawyer Adel Tamano, former congressmen Omar Fajardo and Arden Anni, ARMM secretary Atty. Anwar Malanog, Sultan Hadji Nur Hassan of the Supreme Council of the Royal Sultanate of Jolo, Chancellor Lorenzo Reyes of the Mindanao State University in Tawi-Tawi and lawyer Rex Panumpang of the Greenhills Moro Traders, pushed the bid for federalism during a forum organized by the Philippine Council on Islam and Democracy in San Juan City.
Federalism advocates former senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and lawyer Raul Lambino also attended the forum. Pimentel gave his presentation justifying why it is crucial for Mindanao to federalize immediately.
Rasul, PCID convenor, said they gathered leaders from the Muslim diaspora to be able to get their views on ongoing efforts at federalism. The forum is the first event organized which gathered Muslim leaders since the failed adoption of the Bangsamoro Basic Law.
In a quick survey held at the forum, 76 percent or 48 out of 63 Muslim leaders expressed their support for the federalization of Mindanao through a constitutional convention while 34 leaders said Charter change should be undertaken through constituent assembly with the Senate and Congress voting separately.
Rasul said most Moros have a positive view of federalism, which they believe is the right model for archipelagic and culturally diverse Philippines.
“For many years, Filipino Bangsamoros have expressed a somber view of autonomy as realized by the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. Many even say that the ARMM was just a pacification tool of Malacañang to arrest the rising tide of Bangsamoro independence in early 2002,” she said.
“Listening to President Duterte, I agree with him that federalism could be the political solution we, Filipino Muslims are actively aspiring for. Federalism could speed up economic recovery of the South, leading to more jobs and more business opportunities,” she added.
For decades, Muslim Filipinos have been fighting for the share of economic gains controlled and managed by the centralized government since 1915.
Insurgent activities rose when UP professor Nur Misuari organized the Moro National Liberation Front, which initially sought cessation but was eventually convinced to negotiate with the Philippine government in the 1970s.
In 1978, the Philippine government and the MNLF entered into an agreement in Tripoli, Libya which took at least 18 years before the agreement was implemented under the Ramos administration through the ARMM.