KIDAPAWAN CITY — Founder Nur Misuari of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) visited on Sunday in a town in Maguindanao the grave of one of the most important Muslim leaders in Mindanao.
Misuari considered Datu Udtog Matalam, Sr., founder of the Mindanao Independence Movement (MIM), as his "second" parent and Pagalungan, a town in Maguindanao, as his "second home".
The MIM was the first Moro-led group that launched rebellion in Mindanao against the government of then President Ferdinand Marcos.
Matalam was the first governor of the former Empire Cotabato. The "empire" was then composed of cities of Cotabato, General Santos, Tacurong, Koronadal, and provinces of Saranggani, South Cotabato, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao, and Shariff Kabunsuan.
"It was the great, great old Matalam that inspired Prof. Misuari to continue the struggle of the Bangsamoro in Mindanao," said Pagalungan councilor Zandra Matalam Adil. Adil belongs to the powerful Matalam clan in Maguindanao.
Misuari visited the grave of Matalam, Sr., and his wife, Bai Tinomimbang Pendatun-Matalam, who belonged to the powerful and influential Pendatun clan in Mindanao, to pay homage to the great Moro leaders in Mindanao.
"It [the visit] was a promise he [Misuari] made to himself when he was still locked in a prison cell in Luzon," said Adil.
Misuari called Datu Udtog, Sr. as "ama" or father in Maguindanaon and Bai Tinomimbang as his "ina" or mother.
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