By Riz Sunio and Divina Suson with reports from Fatana Sarip/PNA
ILIGAN CITY — Leaders of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Sunday went to Maigo, Lanao del Norte to lead a grand rally, which was aimed at gathering support for the inclusion of the six municipalities of the province in the new Bangsamoro government through the February 6 plebiscite.
Municipal mayors in the province, who support the BOL, also attended the event.
On Saturday evening, Murad Ebrahim, MILF chairperson, and other leaders of the group visited evacuation centers in Marawi City in solidarity and celebration of the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), and then went on to Lanao del Norte to campaign for the “Yes” vote, for its delayed plebiscite.
The party visited the Sarimanok Tent City to distribute relief packs and to thank the people who voted for the BOL’s ratification.
In his speech, he said that he had always wanted to visit the evacuation sites of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) due to the Marawi Siege.
“You have already been living here (Sarimanok Evacuation Center) for more than a year already. You should have been a priority to be transferred to the Buganga transitory shelters (sic),” he said.
The Buganga transitory shelter will be the biggest transitory shelter in Marawi yet.
Murad and his party distributed some 300 relief packs, each consisting of one dozen sachets of instant coffee, a kilo of brown sugar, about three kilos of rice, a pack of biscuits, and four sachets of milk.
They also gave away relief packs to people in transitory shelter and evacuation sites in Marawi City’s Sagonsongan, Mipaga, and Bito Buadi Itowa and in the municipalities of Saguiaran, Baloi and Pantar.
Jonaira Taratingan, an evacuee in Sarimanok Tent City, is one of the recipients of MILF’s relief packs. She said she was thankful for receiving help and for seeing Murad in person.
The Sarimanok Tent City currently houses 107 families in Site 1 and 219 families in Site 2.
The Lanao del Norte plebiscite will determine whether its six towns will join the new Bangasamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), or will remain part of Lanao del Norte province.
The six towns are Tagoloan, Balo-i, Pantar, Munai, Tangcal, and Nunungan. In order to be part of BARMM, the province has to win a double-majority vote, which means the “Yes” votes should not only win in the six towns, but also throughout the Lanao del Norte province.
Members of the Dimaporo family that is holding major posts in the province earlier said they support BOL but will not allow the six towns to be part of BARMM.
“Ang importante, manalo tayo sa six municipalities dahil meron pa tayong pag-asa. Nagsakripisyo na tayo ng malaki para dito (It is important that we should win in the six municipalities because we still have hope. We have sacrificed a lot for this),” said Commissioner Mohagher Iqbal of the Bangsamoro Transition Commission.
