Placing Sulu under MILF control is treason - Sulu sultanate

MANILA, Philippines - The Sultanate of Sulu on Friday opposed the inclusion of the Sulu archipelago in the areas to be placed under the Bangsamoro political region to be controlled by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Abraham Idjirani, spokesman for the sultanate, said the Sulu archipelago composed of the provinces of Sulu, Basilan, Tawi-Tawi, Zamboanga Peninsula and Palawan are territories ancestrally owned by the Sultanate of Sulu.

According to Idjirani, the Sulu archipelago was incorporated into the Philippines in 1935 by the United States, despite an assurance given by the American government that the Sulu Sultanate would be placed uder its protection.

"Despite the vehement objection of (Sulu) Sultan Jamalul Kiram III’s great ancestors to join the Philippines as an independent State, Sultan Jamalul Kiram III and his nine living brothers and sisters and all other Kiram heirs embraced the Filipino citizens without qualifications. They are not vengeful of the acts committed against them by the United States and the Philippine Governments," said Idjirani

Idjirani said the Sultanate of Sulu is questioning the authority of the Aquino administration to hand over the Sulu archipelago to the MILF. Idjirani added that the Sulu Sultanate was not even consulted on the proposed inclusion of the Sulu archipelago to the Bangsamoro region.

"Under what authority, therefore, the officials and authorities of the Aquino Administration discarded the protection of the Sultan of Sulu to their ancestral kingdom in the Sulu Archipelago? Like a hot cake, it would soon be handed over to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front without prior consultation made with them," Idjirani added.

Idjirani said the Sultanate of Sulu sees the Bangsamoro Framework Agreement as a legal land grabbing mechanism of the Sultanate's ancestral lands by both the Philippine government and the MILF.

"The subject of turning over the ancestral kingdom of the Sultanate of Sulu in the Sulu Archipelago to the MILF as defined under the Bangsamoro Framework Agreement will prejudice its historical truths and patrimony," said Idjirani.

"The territory known as Archipelago of Sulu belongs to the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo. It was recognized by the United States in the Introductory Statement of the 1915 Kiram-Carpenter Agreement as an independent political sovereignty for more than 400 years prior to an American occupation and rule which begun in 1900, including England, Spain, Germany, Holland, France and China in 1405," Idjirani added.

He said that while the ultimate sovereignty was transferred and entrusted to the Republic of the Philippines, it was transferred without justice served.

"That is a technical treason," said Idjirani.

The Bangsamoro Framework Agreement states that: “The core territory of the Bangsamoro shall be composed of: (a) the present geographical area of the ARMM; (b) the Municipalities of Baloi, Munai, Nunugan, Pantar, Tagoloan and Tangkal in the province of Lanao del Norte and all other barangays in the Municipalities of Kabacan, Carmen, Aleosan, Pigkawayan, Pikit, and Midsayap that voted for inclusion in the ARMM during the 2001 plebiscite; (c) the cities of Cotabato and Isabela; and (d) all other contiguous areas where there is a resolution of the local government unit or a petition of at least ten percent (10%) of the qualified voters in the area asking for their inclusion at least two months prior to the conduct of the ratification of the Bangsamoro Basic Law and the process of delimitation of the Bangsamoro.