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Nation

Bangsamoro congress declares ‘independence’ for Mindanao

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ZAMBOANGA CITY - A Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF)-led congress of the Bangsamoro people has declared "independence" for Mindanao and Palawan, a senior MNLF official said.

The 4th National Bangsamoro People’s Congress held here also elected MNLF chairman Nur Misuari president of the "independent" state, according to Abdurahman Jamasali, a senior MNLF official and interior and local government undersecretary of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM).

"This is not the wish of the MNLF," Jamasali said. "This is the desire of the Bangsamoro people who have seen the futility of the 1996 peace accord."

Rev. Absalum Cerveza, a Protestant minister and deputy chairman of the SZOPAD-SPCPD (Special Zone of Peace and Development-Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development), was appointed first prime minister of the "independent" state.

Jamasali, however, said the MNLF has yet to officially endorse the declaration of independence.

In 1996, the Ramos administration forged a peace agreement with the MNLF which outlined the creation of a transitory government leading to a plebiscite for genuine autonomy in Mindanao.

The pact only went as far as putting up a transitory body — the SZOPAD-SPCPD.

Mindanao and Palawan are territories claimed by the MNLF under the 1971 Tripoli Agreement.

The declaration of independence came on the heels of a power struggle in the higher echelons of the MNLF. Fifteen senior members of the MNLF plotted to oust Misuari as ARMM governor and chairman of the SPCPD through a resolution circulated during the first day of the congress last Monday.Roel Pareño

A MORO NATIONAL LIBERATION FRONT

ABDURAHMAN JAMASALI

ABSALUM CERVEZA

AUTONOMOUS REGION

BANGSAMORO

JAMASALI

MINDANAO AND PALAWAN

MNLF

MUSLIM MINDANAO

NATIONAL BANGSAMORO PEOPLE

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