DAVAO CITY, June 23 — Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) Chair, Sec. Abul Khayr Alonto, said that in light of the infiltration of ISIS members and sympathizers in the country, the Philippines is in dire need to convert its Unitarian government into a Federal one.
During the Mindanao Hour Press Briefing held in this city, June 23, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) leader said that even if the Maute and the ISIS appear to have been weakened by military operations in Mindanao, it does not address the centuries-long issues that sparked convoluted religious ideologies here in the first place.
“This means we have to eliminate and resolve the causes through which daesh ISIS has been able to find a foothold in the Bangsamoro and lure our desperate youth into its depraved and perverse ideology,” he said.
“It is in this context, thus, that henceforth we have to return to, and focus on, the original national flagship agenda of the President for system change – the constitutional shift from the present Unitary state to Federalism,” Sec. Alonto said.
The secretary believes that at present time, having an inclusive form of government where Moros can govern in accordance to their faith and religion is the best way to survive.
“This is not just a matter of reform,” he explained. “It has become a matter of survival for the Philippine State in light of the global menace of daesh extremism that has, like a metastasizing cancer, now invaded our country through its backdoor. The Marawi City tragedy ought to jolt us out of our smug complacency and oblivious treatment of the Bangsamoro Question.”
Sec. Alonzo then revealed that the Moro community is determined to form an All-Moro Convention, whose goal is to bring all Moro tribes together and form a consolidated law in preparation for Federalism.
“We are determined to immediately convoke, with the official blessings of the President, the All-Moro Convention to expedite inclusivity or the participation of all sectors of the Bangsamoro and as well as the convergence of the two separate tracts [MNLF and MILF peace agreements] in the peace processes with the Moro Fronts,” he said, adding that once a Moro Law is completed, it will be submitted to the Constitutional Commission in charge of the drafting of the new Federal republic in the future. (PCO Davao/PNA)
