Provincial board bars MILF activities in Sulu

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

December 29, 2025 | 5:29pm

COTABATO CITY— Members of the Sulu provincial board have approved a resolution banning any activity or expansion of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in the province, recognizing the area as the sole domain of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF).

The resolution was officially adopted on Friday, December 26, and was signed by eight members of the Sulu Sangguniang Panlalawigan and their presiding officer, Vice Governor Hadji Abdusakur Tan Sr.

Sulu was removed from the core territory of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) by the Supreme Court in 2024, following a petition filed by Tan about three years earlier when he was provincial governor. BARMM’s regional government is led by ranking MILF officials.

The MILF has state-recognized strongholds in Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Lanao del Sur, and other provinces in Regions 9 and 12, all far from the island province of Sulu.

In its December 26 resolution, Sulu’s Sangguniang Panlalawigan cited its disapproval of a planned MILF convergence in Luuk town. The resolution also noted that the military had not issued any clearance for the event and reaffirmed that Sulu is not MILF territory.

“Allowing the conduct of MILF activities (in Sulu) without lawful authority, or security clearance poses risks of misunderstanding and destabilization,” the resolution pointed out.

Local executives in Sulu told reporters via text message on Monday, December 29, that they support the strongly-worded resolution of their Sangguniang Bayan.

Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling that Sulu is no longer part of BARMM, agencies of the autonomous regional government continued operating in the province, serving the local communities.

The resolution drafted and approved by Tan and eight other provincial lawmakers last Friday also stated that Sulu does not recognize any political, administrative, or security authority of the MILF in its territory.

Following the Supreme Court’s decision to separate Sulu from BARMM, the province was recently integrated into Administrative Region 9 through a written directive signed by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Sulu was originally under the now-defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, established in 1992 and was replaced by a more empowered BARMM in 2019, as a result of 22 years of peace talks between the government and the MILF.  

The tedious negotiations between the government and the MILF were facilitated by Malaysia, a member-state of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, a bloc of more than 50 Muslim nations, including petroleum-exporting countries in the Middle East and in North Africa. 

Copies of the resolution drafted and approved on Friday by Sulu’s Sangguniang Panlalawigan had been forwarded to the Police Regional Office 9, the military’s Western Mindanao Command based in Zamboanga City and to media outfits in Cotabato City, the regional capital of BARMM.