Moro Muslims urge Turkey to continue support

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on Monday said they want the continued support of Turkey after the recent approval of a law on comprehensive autonomy for Moro Muslims.

Al Hajj Murad Ebrahim, MILF chairman, told Anadolu Agency Turkey is officially in the peace process with the government of Philippines as a third party.

Ebrahim said so far around 200 students have been receiving education in Turkey, and emphasized the contributions of Turkey's Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) and the Turkish Diyanet Foundation (TDV) -- affiliated with Turkey's Religious Affair Directorate -- in the region.

The public wants solution to their problems, Ebrahim added.

Muslim communities living on the southern Philippines' Mindanao, Palawan and Sulu Archipelagos, and other islands are called the Moro.

The law provides for increasing the legal and economic earnings of Muslims in the region, giving more comprehensive autonomy to those living on the islands around Mindanao, which has a large Muslim population.

With the new regulation, a Bangsamoro -- a collective term for Filipino Muslims -- autonomous government will be established.

The central administration will hand over administrative power in Mindanao to the Bangsamoro government.