MILF says midterm polls ‘material’ to peace plan

ILIGAN CITY—Although it has stood against involvement in electoral exercises, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) has acknowledged that the outcome of the May 13 elections is “material” to the Mindanao peace process.

“(We) are appealing to the people to vote intelligently and choose the candidates who are clearly propeace and reject those who are clearly anti-Moro,” said a recent statement of the MILF posted on its official website.

“They (national and local candidates) are generally supportive of the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro (FAB) and the peace process. This makes the choice very tough for voters,” the group said.

However, the MILF singled out outgoing Zamboanga City Mayor Celso Lobregat, who is running for a House seat, and Moro National Liberation Front founding chair Nur Misuari, who is running for governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, as exceptions.

Lobregat and Misuari have openly criticized the FAB as unresponsive to the real issues of peace in Mindanao.

This is the first time as a revolutionary organization that the MILF has issued such an appeal. As a matter of policy, the MILF has shunned elections.

It has not endorsed candidates but leaves its members, except those in active service in its military and political organs, to seek office and choose candidates. Former MILF military spokesperson Eid Kabalu was sacked from his post three years ago for violating this policy.

Prior to the 2010 elections, the MILF issued a “political forecast” that whoever would be elected President will have bearing on how the Mindanao peace process will turn out.

Failing to bring the peace negotiations to a conclusion, the administration of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo signed in early 2010 a Declaration of Continuity with the MILF to ensure a smooth transition in peace talks. Ryan D. Rosauro, Inquirer Mindanao