Fighting for Peace in the Philippines: VICE News Interviews Nur Misuari

Summary

VICE News travels to a remote Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) camp on Jolo to interview its founder, Nur Misuari. The journey takes place amid military operations, election-related violence, and kidnappings. The reporter describes the island as dangerous and generally off-limits to journalists.

At the camp, the reporter meets young MNLF members, some reportedly aged 13 to 17, who have grown up amid conflict and often cannot attend school.

Misuari says his camp maintains a coexistence arrangement with government forces that has helped preserve local peace. He remains committed to Moro independence, saying he has pledged to fight for his people’s freedom for the rest of his life and has prepared his eldest son to succeed him. He portrays the Moro as an unconquered people and rejects the Philippine government’s claim to the region, describing its rule as colonial.

The report notes that the MNLF signed a peace agreement with the Philippine government in 1996, but that it was not fully implemented. Misuari says the final peace agreement remains central. The reporter raises the difficulty of negotiations amid divisions between the MNLF and other Moro groups, including the MILF. Misuari insists that the Moro people are united despite those divisions.

Misuari has been in hiding since 2013 and faces a warrant over alleged involvement in the deadly Zamboanga siege. He denies responsibility, saying he was elsewhere and cut off from the fighting. He also says MNLF field commanders make operational decisions, though he maintains that his followers remain loyal to him.

On security issues, Misuari says he has helped secure the release of foreign hostages through negotiations. He says he does not know of an ISIS presence in the area and does not consider it a local force.

Asked about the presidential election, Misuari identifies Rodrigo Duterte as his choice for president and Bongbong Marcos for vice president. Though he acknowledges that Ferdinand Marcos was an enemy and that his rule was associated with the origins of the Moro rebellion, Misuari argues that a son should not inherit blame for his father’s actions.

Misuari says he will only feel worn out once his people have justice, which he says they still lack.

Presenters and Contributors

• VICE News reporter — unnamed in the subtitles
• Nur Misuari — MNLF founder and interviewee
• MNLF camp members — briefly interviewed or observed by the reporter