House Deputy Speaker and Basilan lone district Rep. Mujiv Hataman says that the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s (MILF) and United Bangsamoro Justice Party’s (UBJP) endorsement of Vice President Leni Robredo’s candidacy is an endorsement for peace and progress in Mindanao.
The Deputy Speaker described it as “a vote for peace and progress in a large area of Mindanao that for centuries has eluded both".
“Kaya naniniwala kami na ang endorsement na ito ay magkakaroon ng domino effect sa maraming lugar hindi lang sa Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) kundi pati sa buong Mindanao (We believe that this endorsement will have a domino effect on many places not just in BARMM but all over Mindanao),” Hataman said in a press statement on Wednesday, April 27.
“Unang-una na dito ay ang pagsuporta ng dating gobernador ng Maguindanao kay VP Leni (The first of this being the support of the former Maguindanao Governor for VP Leni),” he said.
He was referring to former Governor and now Maguindanao 2nd district Rep. Esmael Mangudadatu, who is currently vying for a gubernatorial re-election.
Mangudadatu, alongside the UBJP and MILF, endorsed VP Robredo on her birthday last April 23.
Read more here: https://mb.com.ph/2022/04/23/robredo-gains-historic-endorsement-from-milf/
“Ang UBJP at MILF na mismo ang nagsabi na si VP Leni ang best partner para ma-sustain ang kapayapaan na tinatamasa natin ngayon sa Mindanao (The UBJP and the MILF themselves have said the VP Leni is the best partner to sustain the peace we have now in Mindanao),” Hataman said.
Hataman explained that the reasons for the MILF and the UBJP’s endorsement of the opposition leader was two-fold: he noted the atrocities committed under late strongman President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.’s martial law era, as well as the promise of peace under a Robredo administration.
“Yes, what happened in the past is a contributory factor kasi malupit naman talaga ginawa (because what they did was really cruel)– towns burned, mosques pillaged at napakaraming masaker ng mga Moro (many Moros were massacred)...Pero para sa UBJP at MILF, mas matimbang ang panatilihin ang kapayapaan sa hinaharap (But for the UBJP and the MILF, it's more important to consider maintaining peace in the future). What the future holds is more important, if the interests of the Moros will be protected, if the path of peace is kept, and who can this be entrusted to,” he said.
Robredo's Palace rival, UniTeam's Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr., is the son of Marcos Sr.