By Azer Parrocha/PNA
MANILA — President Rodrigo R. Duterte said that he is “in a hurry” to strike a deal with Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding chairman Nur Misuari to finally end the long-drawn Moro rebellion and achieve lasting peace in Mindanao.
“I am in a hurry to strike a deal with Nur Misuari,” Duterte said during the PDP-Laban campaign rally in Koronadal City on Tuesday (March 26).
Duterte bared this, a week after meeting with Misuari in Malacañang to discuss the shift to federalism, which the MNLF founder was pushing for.
While the government has “come to terms” with Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim in terms of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), Duterte said he wanted to do the same with Misuari.
Ebrahim now heads the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) and acts as interim minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
“The BOL is satisfactory according to Murad, as it is. So long as it is implemented correctly. Kay (With) Misuari naman, medyo (maybe) we have to deal with him again,” Duterte said.
“And I hope that we could find the space, the time, and the issues that would be more acceptable to everybody, to both the Lumads, the Christian, and the Moro,” he added.
Last week, Duterte said he asked Misuari to form a negotiating panel to address his group’s concerns.
This, after the MNLF leader told the President that he will go to war if the proposed shift to a federal system will not happen.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Misuari “was very happy” with the President’s response to form a negotiating panel.