IPIL, Zamboanga del Norte — What began as a regional discussion is quickly turning into a full-blown Mindanao-wide conversation on the state of the nation.

Leaders and sectoral representatives from Zamboanga Peninsula, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi (ZamBaSulTa) gathered in Zamboanga City over the weekend for a consultative meeting aimed at crafting a unified Mindanaoan position on the country’s most pressing political and economic issues.

The gathering, dubbed a Mindanao-wide “state of the nation” consultation, drew around 100 delegates from the ZamBaSulTa areas. They were welcomed by lawyer Nazir Ynawat, president of the Alliance of Advocates of Federalism in the Philippines (AAFP), during the meeting held at McQueen Resto along Pasonanca in Zamboanga City.

Organizers said the forum was meant to give Mindanao a stronger collective voice amid what they described as the region’s growing political marginalization.

The consultations were jointly organized by Benitor Ranque and Cesar Cuntapay, governors of the Mayor’s Sara Duterte Alliance. Cuntapay said the goal is to bring Mindanao leaders together and arrive at a common stand on national issues that directly affect the island.

“This is about making sure Mindanao is heard,” Cuntapay said, noting that similar consultative meetings are lined up across the island.

He said the next rounds of consultations will be held in Sultan Kudarat for Central Mindanao and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), as well as in Caraga and Northern Mindanao. The series will culminate in early February with the presentation of a manifesto and set of resolutions in Zamboanga City.

The meeting also took an unexpected turn when a group representing Sama communities from coastal and island areas of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi stood up to share their views on the current state of the nation.

Led by retired police general Shepard Reyes, the group said they represent around 1.8 million people from various Sama subgroups. Reyes told the DAILY TRIBUNE that their communities are seeking political representation through the party-list system in the BARMM.

The Sama groups include the Sama Badjao, Sama Bangingi, Sama Yakan, and other sea-dwelling and coastal peoples of the southern Philippines.

Adding another layer to the discussion, a university professor who attended the meeting later told the Daily Tribune that he was among the original signatories of the 1986 Declaration of Independence of Mindanao.

The declaration was spearheaded by the late lawyer Reuben Canoy, who convened a Mindanao convention that same year. In his book Quest for Mindanao Independence, Canoy recounted how Muslim leaders from Brooke’s Point in Palawan and tribal leaders from Bukidnon and Davao expressed support for an independent Mindanao.

On 16 July 1986, the movement formally submitted a petition for federal statehood to the United Nations Secretariat in New York.

The professor said the idea of Mindanao independence could resurface if a major country such as China or Russia were to recognize it — an act that, he claimed, could elevate Mindanao’s status to that of a belligerent entity under international law. He also suggested that an interim leadership could be elected to establish a provisional government.

For now, organizers say the focus remains on dialogue — one that continues to grow in size, scope, and ambition as Mindanao’s leaders prepare to take their collective concerns to the national stage.