Leader says MNLF a security problem anew

MARAWI CITY – The Moro National Liberation Front will soon become a potential problem again to the peace and security of the nation if the case of its chairman Nur Misuari is not resolved, according to a top ranking MNLF officer here.

Marawi City Mayor Omar Solitario Ali, a top ranking MNLF leader here and in Lanao del Sur said yesterday that because there is still no political or legal resolution to the case of MNLF chairman Nur Misuari, who is now languishing at the Sta. Rosa, Laguna jail, the Moro revolutionary forces; the MNLF and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, are uneasy and this situation could become a problem to the nation’s peace and security.

Misuari who signed a peace agreement with the government in 1996, was once the governor of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao. However, after his stint as ARMM governor, he led a pocket revolt in Zamboanga City three years ago and escaped to Indonesia where he was arrested and turned over to the Philippine government. Since then, Misuari has been languishing at the Sta. Rosa, Laguna jail.

Ali said that the government should hasten the resolution of Misuari’s case. He added that the present leadership in the ARMM which is headed by a non-MNLF, has widened the gap between government and the Moro revolutionary forces.

During the ARMM election on Aug. 8, the selection and endorsement by Malacañang of a non-MNLF member as its official candidate for governor, has "shut out" the MNLF from the ARMM, the MNLF said.

Following the recent ARMM election, Secretary Jesus Dureza, presidential assistant for Mindanao who is tasked to monitor the peace process, asked the MNLF to work with newly-elected governor Zaldy Ampatuan, a non-MNLF, and other officials of the ARMM, instead of abandoning it.

Last week, a firefight ensued between government troops and some members of the MNLF in Maguindanao where two government militiamen were killed. The military identified the dead militiamen as Macmod Satol and Uga Maliga.

The military said it was pursuing MNLF commander Datu Mando Tambolangan who is long wanted by the government.

The Marawi City mayor said that the only way to resolve these problems is for government to immediately work for a constitutional change and shift to a federal-parliamentary form of government.