Nur to Muslims: Vote for GMA

Jailed former governor Nur Misuari of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) called on Filipino Muslims yesterday to support President Arroyo in the May 10 national elections.

In a statement from Fort Sto. Domingo in Sta. Rosa, Laguna where he is detained on rebellion charges, Misuari said Mrs. Arroyo has a vision to bring peace and economic prosperity to the country.

"In spite of my incarceration, and although I am hurting, I believe it is best for our people to support President Arroyo to enable her to realize her vision of peace and economic prosperity for the Philippines," a statement from Misuari said in part.

Misuari said Mrs. Arroyo "can best implement" the proposed shift to the parliamentary-federal system of government.

He said the President is a "peace president" who has a genuine program of reconciliation with the marginalized sectors of society.

The statement is directed to Muslim communities and the Filipino people so they could "avoid any mistake" in choosing the country’s president, Misuari added.

Misuari issued the statement after a visit from Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. and National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzalez.

However, opposition senatorial candidate Didagen Dilangalen said Misuari no longer wields any influence among Muslims in vote-rich Mindanao.

"I don’t think he still has the hold on the Muslims," he said.

"Even the incumbent (ARMM) governor (Farouk Hussin) is having a hard time. He could not convince the people to vote for GMA.

"This is part of the game plan. The government has no evidence against him. He should have been freed a long time ago, but they are waiting for the right time," Dilangalen said.

Misuari was jailed in Fort Sto. Domingo in 2002 after he was arrested in Malaysia on charges that he led his followers in storming an Army camp in Sulu in November 2001.

Misuari is being tried for rebellion before Judge Norberto Gonzales of the Calamba City Regional Trial Court in a special courthouse built for his trial inside Fort Sto. Domingo,

A dozen followers of Misuari were killed and more than 40 others wounded when they attacked an Army camp in Sulu on Nov. 19, 2001.

Misuari and seven of his men were later captured while trying to sneak into Sabah after fleeing Sulu to elude pursuing government troops.

Malaysian authorities later turned over Misuari and his followers to top Filipino police and foreign affairs officials who had come to Kuala Lumpur to take custody of the fugitives.

In Cagayan Valley, Governors Edgar Lara of Cagayan and Faustino Dy of Isabela have assured the victory of Mrs. Arroyo in the vote-rich region during the May 10 elections.

Lara said some 7,000 people filled the Quirino Grandstand in Tuguegarao City last Monday during Mrs. Arroyo’s pre-campaign, four-province sortie in Cagayan Valley.

"Cagayan is GMA country," he said.

Dy, national president of the Nationalist People’s Coalition, said Mrs. Arroyo will make a "clean sweep" in Isabela and other parts of Cagayan Valley, which is also comprised of the provinces of Cagayan, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, and Batanes.

"We will deliver votes for her," he said. "She will win even if the elections would be held now."

Of the five governors of Cagayan Valley, four are supporting Mrs. Arroyo.

Nueva Vizcaya Gov. Rodolfo Agbayani is supporting opposition presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr. and his Koalisyon ng Nagkakaisang Pilipino.

Agbayani will be running for Congress in the province’s lone district against retired police general Thompson Lantion, Mrs. Arroyo’s choice; and former governor Ruth Padilla, wife of House Minority Leader Carlos Padilla, who is running for the Senate. — With Charlie Lagasca