MANILA: Apredominantly Muslim area of the southern Philippines has returned a resounding"Yes" in this week's referendum on greater autonomy, boosting hopesfor peace in one of Asia's most conflict-torn regions. The plan to create aself-administered area for the Muslim-dominated parts of Mindanao was backed by85 percent of voters, the election commission said late on Friday, paving theway for a three-year transition towards elections for a legislature that willchoose an executive.
Monday'sreferendum was the culmination of a tumultuous peace process betweenseparatists and successive governments that aimed to settle decades ofconflict, which have hampered development and kept these parts of Mindanaoamong Asia's poorest regions. The instability and high rates of unemployed,unschooled youth made the areas fertile recruitment ground for bandits andIslamist extremists, who exploited grievances about neglect and stokednarratives of government duplicity in the peace process.
The endorsementby some 1.74 million voters comes as no surprise, and the new region to becalled Bangsamoro (nation of Moros) will have greater powers to generate andinvest more money in infrastructure, schools, healthcare and social welfare forits estimated 5 million inhabitants. A ballot will now be held on Feb. 6 to askseveral other areas if they want to join. The central government will overseedefense, security, and foreign and monetary policy, and soon appoint atransition authority nominated by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).
Vice PresidentLeni Robredo said it was vital the central government helps Bangsamoro to build"a progressive economy and responsible local government".
"Let us guardand support the progress of this process because this is not yet the end of thefight for peace," Robredo said. The vote came at a critical time for thePhilippines, which saw disillusioned MILF factions break away and follow otherarmed groups in pledging allegiance to Islamic State.
That has stokedfears that fighters fleeing Iraq and Syria would join radicals from Malaysiaand Indonesia in gravitating to Mindanao to capitalize on porous borders,jungles and mountains, and an abundance of arms. Martial law has been in placein Mindanao since an extremist alliance overran Marawi City in 2017 andoccupied it for five months, in what was the Philippines' fiercest and longestconflict since World War Two.
The army saidthree remnants of that alliance were killed on Thursday when troops discovereda makeshift jungle camp. It released images of trenches and what it said wasIslamic State paraphernalia. Mohagher Iqbal, the MILF's top peace negotiator,said on TV on Thursday that he hoped radical splinters of the separatist group,like those of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), would recognizethe will of the people for peace. "One of the BIFF leaders has alreadyreached out," he said, without elaborating. - Reuters