Manila asks MNLF to help in push for federal form of govt.

manilatimes manila The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) on Saturday expressed hopes that Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding chairman Nur Misuari could help push a federal form of government. DILG Undersecretary and spokesman Jonathan Malaya assured Misuari in a statement that the department had been studying how to properly implement federalism in the country and how the public can support it through the Inter-Agency Task Force on Federalism and Constitutional Reform (IATF). Malaya said Misuari could help them in raising public understanding of federalism. "There's still time to get this off the ground, so Misuari shouldn't worry. We hope that Chairman Misuari will instead help the IATF advocate for federalism among our people so that more people will understand why federalism is needed," he added. Advocacy programs for federalism have stopped because of the election season, but Malaya said the campaign will resume after the midterm elections on May 13. President Rodrigo Duterte previously said Misuari told him that he would wage war against the government if the country would not shift to a federal system of government. Malaya described federalism as a "complex matter." "It's a change in how we are governed. The devil is in the details. So, I think we have to give the government more time to iron out the details. And that's what we had been doing recently," he said. Misuari is facing rebellion charges and violation of international humanitarian law for leading a 20-day attack on Zamboanga City in 2013 that led to the death of more than 200 people.

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