MNLF is for presidential candidate with `heart for peace process'

COTABATO CITY --- Members of the Moro National Liberation Front shall vote for a presidential candidate who shall sustain the gains of all agreements between the MNLF and Malacañang.

Muslimin Sema, chairman of the MNLF’s central committee and labor minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said Saturday they shall have one vote for a presidential candidate who has “a big heart” for the Mindanao peace process.

Sema said they shall support a candidate for president who shall safeguard the gains of the peace process and implement all agreements embodied in the tripartite review of all compacts between the government and the MNLF --- reached with the help of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. 

The OIC, a bloc of more than 50 Muslim states, among them oil-rich countries in the Middle East and North Africa, brokered the September 2, 1996 final truce between the government and the MNLF.

A tripartite review, involving the OIC, Malacañang and the MNLF, of the compliance by both sides with the provisions of the agreement was initiated about a decade ago, resolutions awaiting enforcement.

Sema said they have instructed, meantime, all MNLF members, their families and supporters to vote for vice presidential candidate Sara Duterte, incumbent mayor of Davao City.

“That is a decision we in the MNLF central committee have reached after dialogues with our leaders on the ground,” Sema said.

Sema said they shall announce who their chosen presidential candidate is shortly prior to the May 9 synchronized local and national elections.

Sema said they will choose a presidential candidate who is inclined to protect and nurture the gains of the MNLF’s September 2, 1996 peace agreement with the national government.

“The MNLF, as an organization, shall support a presidential candidate who shall assure us of a clear platform on addressing issues that are of big importance to us in the MNLF,” Sema said. (John Unson)