President Rodrigo Duterte and Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding chair Nur Misuari. File/Composite
MANILA (UPDATE) – President Rodrigo Duterte on Wednesday revealed that Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) founding chair Nur Misuari wants to meet with him in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.
Duterte said he is interested to meet Misuari in an attempt to end the decades-long conflict in Mindanao.
''Nur and I talked last night and he said he wants to meet me in Kuala Lumpur,'' Duterte said in a news conference.
''He said let's do a signing in two days so we could end this fight," he added.
Duterte said Misuari wants the Organization of Islamic Conference to mediate in the meeting.
The OIC helped broker the MNLF's final peace agreement with the government in 1996.
Misuari is currently in hiding for supposedly leading the Zamboanga City siege in 2013 that left about 200 people dead.
At the time, Misuari was furious about the decision of the government of then-President Benigno Aquino III to hold talks with MNLF's renegade group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
The Misuari faction of the MNLF accused the government of abrogating on its commitment with the group when it held negotiations with the MILF, which led to the creation of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro.
A botched anti-terrorism operation where alleged MILF fighters killed elite cops in January 2015 scuttled the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law, the enabling law of the CAB.
The Duterte government is now in the process of consolidating all agreements with all Moro groups to finally achieve peace in the restive southern Philippines.