ILOILO CITY, Philippines, September 21 (IslamOnline.net) - A ranking leader of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) reiterated Sunday, September 21, that the system or form of government they wanted to establish in the southern Philippine island of Mindanao "is internal to the Bangsamoro people."

Mohagher Iqbal, MILF chief information officer, said the form or system of governance is a matter which the Bangsamoro people would decide once freedom and self-determination are achieved.

"At present the MILF could not decide yet the issue but definitely it is internal and only the Bangsamoro people could determine for their future and political status," Iqbal said in a statement posted in their official website.

He said the system of government which they want to establish in their ancestral territory "is one that is acceptable to all peoples irrespective of nationalities, race, color, beliefs, creeds and social status in life."

"But certainly being a Muslim one that is in accord with the teachings Islam and the tradition of the Holy Prophet of Islam," Iqbal stressed.

In 1996, the Philippine government under then-president Fidel Ramos inked an agreement with the Moro National Liberation Front, considered as forerunner of the MILF, to end the hostilities in Mindanao.

MILF fighters were integrated into the Philippine military and police forces, while MILF leaders took control of the autonomous government that was set to govern Mindanao provinces that were carved out and granted autonomy. Many say it failed.

Meanwhile, Iqbal assured the peoples living within the territory of a Free Bangsamoro Homeland that their right to self-determination would be respected.

"This includes the right to form a separate self-rule either through autonomy, federalism or get away from its territory. They may also leave the Free Bangsamoro Homeland if they so desire. But all their cultural and property rights would be justly compensated," he added.

But Iqbal is emphatic that the indigenous inhabitants or so-called Lumad are considered an integral part of Bangsa Moro or Moro Nation based on historic and legal rights of the Bangsamoro people.

He said the MILF is widely misunderstood for establishing an independent Islamic State once freedom is attained. "The State of Islam is just a dream of every Moro, being a Muslim and a member of the Nation of Islam."

Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr., who has once been a mayor of the Mindanao city of Cagayan de Oro, is aggressively pushing for federalism as the solution to the Mindanao problem.

He said in August 2003 that "the Federal System of government in practice protects regional diversity in interests or ideas from infringement by national majorities. It also responds more easily to local conditions as it allows areas to protect and express their unique values which may be religious or social.

"It is, thus, submitted that the Federal System is the system of government that is most ideally suited to speed up the economic development of the nation and to address the just grievances of the Moro peoples of Mindanao."

But noted Mindanao-based journalist Patricio Diaz is a bit skeptical of the proposal. He said: "In principle, Pimentel is right in envisioning the Bangsamoro Federal State as the means to attain ‘a just and lasting peace in Mindanao.’ However, ultimately all will depend on how the federalization is actually crafted."

He pointed out that "the Muslims are sensitive people who are most sensitive about their aspirations. A federal system that will negate even just one of their aspirations may not be acceptable."

Lawyer, historian and MILF peace panel member Datu Michael Mastura suggested at the 27th General Assembly and Forum of the Bishops-Businessmen’s Conference for Human Development in July 2003 that the "home-rule comprehensive compact under United Nations General Assembly Resolution 1541 (XV) of 1960 as referents: Integration into an Independent State Free Association with an Independent State; or Full Self-Governance."

"Separatism like federalism, autonomy or free state association has antecedents. This configuration of alternative options is not always a representational project of dichotomy that is, between the dogmatic defense of territorial integrity and self-determination," he said.

Mastura also pointed out that the "Integration option under the present unitary system erodes the very integrity of Muslim distinct domestic community. Accordingly the Bangsamoro are mindful of the fact that already, by 1972, this Nation-State tried to employ full coercive powers in genocidal proportions, thus preceding East Timor or recent European events equated with ‘ethnic cleansing’."

In a write-up before he assumed the MILF chairmanship due to the demise of Salamat Hashim, Al Haj Murad Ibrahim said: "Basically, the struggle of the Bangsamoro people is to preserve their own way of life in accordance with their Islamic belief, culture, and historical background."

He then proposed "that the only way to correct the historical mistake" committed against the Bangsamoro people "in illegally and immorally annexing their homeland to the Philippine Republic without their legal consent is to conduct a referendum to determine the real pulse of the Bangsamoro people."