Murad backers take ‘rainbow’ coalition appeal to Mendiola, Cotabato plaza

COTABATO CITY — Supporters of a "rainbow" coalition government led by Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chair Ahod "Al Haj Murad" Ebrahim took their appeal to the gates of Malacañang and to this city’s main plaza on Thursday, Oct. 22. They urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to back the arrangement eight days before the first regular Bangsamoro Parliament convenes.

The rally at Mendiola in Manila went ahead as scheduled. It was organized by the Bangsamoro Inter-Religious Leaders for Inclusive Governance (BIRLIG), with the Save Bangsamoro Movement as co-organizer.

Participants, many of them women in green hijabs, lined the street near the Legarda and Casal streets intersection holding streamers in Filipino, while police stood by.

One streamer urged all winning political parties to support Murad as BARMM Chief Minister. Another called on Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo to help bring about a "Rainbow Coalition" of parties under Murad’s leadership.

Other streamers congratulated Secretary Mel Senen Sarmiento of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace, Reconciliation and Unity (OPAPRU) on what they called the successful meeting between the Government of the Philippines (GPH) and the MILF in Kuala Lumpur on Sept. 25. Sarmiento also chairs the GPH Peace Implementing Panel.

In a media advisory issued on Wednesday, the organizers said they would ask the President to "ensure" a Murad-led coalition and call for peace as his "enduring legacy" to the Filipino and Bangsamoro peoples.

"The rally comes at a critical juncture in the Bangsamoro political transition, with the formation of the regular government carrying significant implications for the future of the peace process," said Datu Tokz Bin Abdulrahman, representative of the Save Bangsamoro Movement.

Prayer rally in Cotabato

In Cotabato City, BIRLIG held a prayer rally at the City Plaza on the same day. Abdul Hannan Tago, the group’s spokesperson, read a manifesto that described the proposed "Rainbow Political Parties Coalition" as a way to heal divisions among leaders and communities after the Sept. 14 elections.

"We believe that the Bangsamoro people deserve to have leaders who are united regardless of their political affiliations or parties," the manifesto said.

It also cited alleged election fraud and violence that it said caused deaths and property damage. According to the manifesto, the incidents were documented and are under investigation by the Commission on Elections, with local and international observers as witnesses.

"We, the leaders of the religious sector in the Bangsamoro, believe that the Bangsamoro people have had enough poverty, conflicts, manipulation, deception, deprivation, neglect, and division," the manifesto read.

The group said the coalition it seeks is consistent with the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB), the 2014 peace agreement between the government and the MILF, and with the Bangsamoro Organic Law. It asked Marcos to help unite members of the Parliament and keep governance focused on peace, justice, inclusive growth and fair access to public services.

Addressing the President directly, the manifesto said, "Once and for all, support and help us make the Bangsamoro a land of fulfilled promises."

The religious leaders said thousands of their colleagues had written letters to the President supporting the appeal. They closed the manifesto with a prayer: "May the Almighty Allah hear and respond to our prayers."

Hung parliament

The Sept. 14 Bangsamoro Parliamentary Elections produced a hung parliament. The Bangsamoro Federalist Party (BFP), led by interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua, won the most seats with 31, short of the 41 needed for a majority in the 80-member legislature. The United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP), led by Murad, won 30.

The UBJP has proposed a rainbow coalition that would bring together the MILF, the Moro National Liberation Front, other elected parties, Indigenous Peoples and settlers.

The Parliament holds its inaugural session on Oct. 30, when it will elect the Chief Minister and other parliamentary officers.