Nur Misuari, leader of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), has endorsed the candidacy of Davao City Mayor Rody Duterte.
If Duterte is elected President, there will be lasting peace in Mindanao since he, being from Mindanao, knows the aspiration of the Moros for self-rule.
Before he filed his candidacy, the Davao City mayor had gone around the country promoting federalism which would give greater autonomy to every region in the country according to its ethnicity.
Under the federal system of government, for example, Mindanao would have more say in running its own affairs, free from the dictates of the national government in Manila.
The MNLF fought the Marcos martial law government in the 1970s for self-rule by the Moros.
It is the original Moro secessionist group from which another group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), has sprung.
Duterte’s federalism proposal is more acceptable to both Muslims and other ethnic groups in the country than the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), which has yet to be passed by Congress.
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What’s wrong with the BBL?
First, the members of the government panel that crafted the BBL, which would give Muslims more autonomy, are not from Mindanao but from Luzon.
Naturally, non-Muslim Filipinos, especially those from Mindanao, are averse to the BBL as they were not consulted.
Also, the MILF composed the rebel panel in the peace negotiations which excluded Misuari’s MNLF.
Why the P-Noy administration excluded the MNLF, the original Moro group that sought to secede from the Philippines, from the peace negotiations only the President and his wise advisers know.
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Duterte is acceptable to the Moro rebels—both the MNLF and MILF—and the communists whose arm is the New People’s Army (NPA).
For years, the Davao City government has been living in peaceful coexistence with the MNLF, MILF and the NPA.
Moro and communist rebels on R&R (rest and recreation) in the city are left alone as long as they don’t bring their firearms and they follow the law.
There are even reports that the Davao Death Squad (DDS), which liquidates criminals and members of drug syndicates in the city, is composed of former rebels.
Government soldiers captured by the NPA in the Davao provinces are released upon the representation of Duterte.
He might yet be the only solution to the lingering Moro and communist insurgencies.
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The Supreme Court has allowed Sen. Grace Poe to run in the presidential election on May 9 when it earlier disqualified a Lanao del Norte town mayor who was in the same predicament as Poe.
The town mayor used his US passport after re-embracing his Filipino citizenship.
Poe used her US passport in going to the United States after she reacquired her Filipino citizenship.
If that’s not compartmentalized justice, then what is it?
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Agents of the National Bureau of Investigation seized used clothing (local term: “ukay-ukay”) at a Baclaran mall.
They flashed a piece of paper, supposedly a search warrant, but didn’t allow the owners of the raided stalls to read it.
The agents allegedly demanded P1.5 million in bribe money from the traders, saying the “higher-ups” would get a big share of the bribe.
When the poor stall owners couldn’t produce the amount, the agents allegedly confiscated the banned items and jailed the owners.
I wonder if the raid had the approval of NBI Director Virgilio Mendez?