C O N F I D E N T I A L

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANILA 001534 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/11/2017 
TAGS: PGOV PINS PREL MY RP
SUBJECT: NUR MISUARI BACK ON JOLO, AMID NEW FIGHTING 
 
REF: A. MANILA 1366 
 
     ¶B. MANILA 1243 
     ¶C. MANILA 1187 
     ¶D. MANILA 1011 
     ¶E. MANILA 923 
     ¶F. MANILA 407 
 
Classified By: Pol/C Scott Bellard for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1.  (C) Summary:  The Makati Regional Trial Court temporarily 
permitted detained Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) 
Chairman Nur Misuari to campaign for Sulu Governor in Jolo 
City May 11-14.  Followers of rogue MNLF Commander Habier 
Malik clashed again May 8 with government security forces in 
Kalingang Caluang on Jolo Island.  Pressure may be building 
on some MNLF commanders to support Malik, who remains on the 
run.  Misuari apparently still harbors aspirations to 
"re-gain" Sabah from Malaysia.  The Philippine government 
clearly hopes Misuari will be a force for peace and 
reconciliation over the long-term -- but probably not as Sulu 
governor.   End Summary. 
 
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Court OKs Misuari to Jolo 
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¶2.  (U)  On May 9, Makati Regional Trial Court Judge Winlove 
Dumuyag issued written approval for detained MNLF Chairman 
Nur Misuari to return to Jolo City May 11-14 to campaign for 
Sulu Governor and to cast his votes.  He intends to hold at 
least one political rally in Jolo City.  The judge denied 
requests for him also to visit Luuk, Siasi, and Pangaturan 
May 10-20.  The Court is also unlikely to approve a motion to 
allow Misuari to accept an invitation to the May 15-17 
Organization of Islamic Conference of Foreign Ministers in 
Islamabad, Pakistan.  However, Judge Dumuyag scheduled 
Misuari's bail hearing for June 21.  Exceptionally, the 
hearing will took place in the house where Misuari is serving 
his detention. 
 
¶3.  (C) Armed Forces of the Philippines National Capital 
Region Commander Major General Ben Dolorfino -- the most 
senior AFP Muslim and the chief of the Ad Hoc Joint Action 
Group with the Moro Islamic National Liberation Front -- told 
poloff that he had personally encouraged Misuari to run for 
governor and had advised him to attack incumbent Sulu 
Governor Benjamin Loong for engaging in "un-Islamic 
practices," including embezzlement of Internal Revenue 
Allotment funds, corruption, alcohol consumption, gambling, 
and absenteeism from official duties.  MG Dolorfino said that 
he had also advised Misuari to criticize the other 
gubernatorial candidate -- former Sulu Governor Sakur Tan -- 
for engaging in many of the same "un-Islamic practices," in 
addition to drug trafficking. 
 
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Fresh Fighting 
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¶4.  (U) Renewed fighting erupted in Jolo on May 8 between AFP 
troops and followers of rogue MNLF Commander Habier Malik 
(reftels).  AFP Western Mindanao Command Information Officer 
Eugenio Batara told the press that the fighting began during 
the early morning in Barangay Kambing of Kalinggalang 
Kaluang. 
 
¶5.  (C) MG Dolorfino, whom Malik briefly held captive in 
February (ref f), described the current political and 
security situation on Jolo as "very delicate."  Dolorfino 
commented that, while Malik remains isolated and on the run, 
pressure is building among some MNLF commanders to support 
Malik in the face of mounting MNLF casualties.  He commented 
that if Malik is "pushed to the wall," the potential exists 
that other MNLF elements on Jolo, Basilan, the Zamboanga 
Peninsula, and/or in central Mindanao will enter the fray. 
Dolorfino instead welcomed efforts by the Philippine National 
Police to bring Malik to justice based on a new arrest 
warrant for Malik.  Attorney Jainal separately predicted that 
Malik would never allow himself to be captured alive by 
government security forces and that Malik's death would 
likely embolden other MNLF members to fight. 
 
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Dreaming of Sabah...? 
--------------------- 
 
¶6.  (C) MNLF Attorney Ombra Jainal described Misuari as a 
 
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strong advocate for the recovery of Sabah from Malaysia and 
as still bitter toward Malaysia for arresting and turning him 
over to Philippine authorities in January 2002.  Misuari once 
commented to MG Dolorfino that when the timing was right, 
"the MNLF could invade Sabah at 5 a.m. and control it by 7 
a.m."  Misuari has also reportedly claimed that he personally 
was a legitimate claimant to Sabah by virtue of his "royal 
blood," and has blamed "Malaysia's agents" for stirring up 
trouble in Sulu. 
 
¶7.  (C) Self-proclaimed Sulu Sultan Fuad Kiram granted 
Misuari the hereditary rank of "Datu" (Royal Prince) of the 
Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo (Sabah) at Misuari's 
detention house on March 14.  Kiram attended the March 18 
MNLF Freedom Day Anniversary Celebration at Malik's then-camp 
in Bitanag as guest of honor, where Malik called him the only 
"true and legitimate" Sultan of Sulu and Sabah, according to 
Kiram's chief advisor, Omar Kiram. 
 
¶8.  (C) MG Dolorfino commented that Malaysia is not only 
concerned about Misuari's intentions toward Sabah, where 
Misuari apparently still has hundreds of followers, but also 
about his recent contacts with Malaysian opposition figure 
Anwar Ibrahim, described as an "old friend" of Misuari's. 
Over the past several months, Malaysian officials have held 
at least three meetings with Misuari and/or Misuari's wives, 
according to Jainal and Dolorfino.  During an April 10 
meeting, a special envoy from Malaysian Prime Minister 
Abdullah Ahmad Badawi told Misuari not to meddle in 
Malaysia's domestic politics, Dolorfino said.  According to 
Jainal, Misuari promised Badawi's representative that he had 
no intention of getting involved in Malaysia's internal 
affairs. 
 
¶9.  (C) Dolorfino opined that Malaysia would likely seek 
stronger assurances that Misuari would not pursue the Sabah 
claim.  He added that Malaysia had promised to facilitate an 
eventual power sharing agreement between the MNLF and Moro 
Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) after the GRP-MILF Peace 
Panels reached an ancestral domain agreement. 
 
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Comment 
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¶10.  (C)  Despite his checked past, Nur Misuari retains 
considerable respect among the MNLF as its founder and 
long-time leader, despite his rather ignominious term as 
governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and his 
ongoing trial for sedition.  The Philippine government 
clearly hopes he will be a force for peace and reconciliation 
over the long-term, but probably not as Sulu governor, 
unlikely as that now seems.  His two competitors, Loong and 
Tan, have even stronger ties to different elements in the 
Arroyo Administration, which must ultimately find a path to 
peace with the MILF without treading on too many MNLF toes. 
 
 
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KENNEY