Vice President Leni Robredo (left) and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio. (File photos from Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — The Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Saturday endorsed the presidential candidacy of Vice President Leni Robredo and the vice-presidential bid of Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio.
Earlier, MILF and its political party, the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP) had already announced their endorsement of Robredo’s candidacy on her birthday on April 23.
This time, however, it announced its endorsement in a joint statement with the MNLF, whose founding chair Nur Misauri earlier backed the tandem of former Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Duterte-Carpio.
The joint statement was signed by MNLF Chairman Muslimin Sema, and MILF Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim.
According to the two organizations, they came up with a decision by basing it on the candidate who had a “clear platform of governance and commitment to the peace process and the full implementation of all signed peace agreements during and beyond the current transition period,” vowing that the Bangsamoro will pursue a “platform-based politics” and abandon the “personality-based elections.”
“In light of the above, only one candidate has come out in the open declaring her commitment to sustaining the gains of the Bangsamoro Peace Process. She is presidential aspirant Vice President Leni Robredo. As such, the MILF and the MNLF leaderships support her candidacy,” the groups said.
“On the other hand, the MILF and MNLF leaderships also agree to commonly and strongly support the candidacy of Mayor Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio as vice president of the GPH [government of the Philippines],” they added.
The two groups met on Saturday to discuss how to best align and further strengthen the ongoing cooperation between the two, also deciding to “take a single, united position on the matter of the next leaders of the GPH.”
“Both Fronts are aware of the political consequences of this declaration, especially in consideration of the extended transition period for the establishment of the Bangsamoro Government,” said the two groups in their statement.
“Nonetheless, the primacy of the peace process and of the Bangsamoro people is compelling enough for the MILF and MNLF to be unequivocal on the choice of presidency,” it added.
The Moro resistance groups, which include the MILF and the MNLF, were formed during the martial law era to defend the Moro people from military abuses.
It was Marcos Jr.’s father, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos who was deemed responsible for the attacks against Moros in Mindanao — from abductions and massacres, some of which remain unresolved up to now — after he imposed military rule for over 20 years.
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