MANILA (Islamweb & News Agecnies) - Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo stripped a former Muslim Resistance leader of his power as governor of a southern autonomous region after his supporters launched an armed uprising, officials said on Tuesday.
Presidential spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao told local radio dzMM that Nur Misuari, the governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), had been placed under ``preventive suspension'' -- meaning he could not exercise his power as governor.
``There are many reports that he ordered his group to attack. But we must give him due process. He has yet to talk,'' Tiglao said from the United States, where Arroyo is on a state visit.
``In the meantime, since he is governor, he still has government machinery in Mindanao, he'll be placed on preventive suspension.''
Hundreds of former Muslim Resistance men launched an armed uprising on the southern island of Jolo on Monday in an apparent attempt by Misuari, chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), to derail local elections scheduled for November 26.
The MNLF was the biggest Muslim group fighting for an Islamic state in the south of the largely Catholic country until it signed a peace accord with the government in 1996.
The fighting between government troops and the Muslims on Monday left 55 people dead, mostly Muslim fighters. The military said there was no fresh fighting on Tuesday.
``(President) Arroyo was disappointed by what happened... the president was ready to talk to him,'' Tiglao said, adding that no contact has been established yet with Misuari.
Presidential peace process adviser Eduardo Ermita told dzRH radio: ``We are giving him 48 hours to explain himself.''