CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — Long-buried memories of Mindanao’s push for independence resurfaced this week as an ongoing national conference in Western and Central Mindanao revisited the region’s failed 1986 declaration of independence.

During discussions, founding members of the now-defunct Mindanao Independence Movement (MIM) recalled how then Army Col. Alexander Noble briefly and bloodlessly took over the headquarters of the Army’s 4th Infantry Division in this city — a dramatic episode that, in hindsight, underscored what many now see as the limits of armed struggle.

At the heart of the current consultations is a clear shift in thinking. 

Benito Ranque, convenor of the Mindanao-wide consultations, said participants from Western, Central and Northern Mindanao largely agree that political change cannot be achieved through force.

“The lesson from the past is clear,” Ranque said. “No country will recognize independence won at gunpoint.”

He noted that the 1986 declaration was even submitted to the United Nations, but failed to gain any international support — largely because it was tied to a military action, something the global community no longer accepts.

What stood out during the recent conference at Jonel Hall was the position taken by the mainstream Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). Ranque said the group submitted a resolution formally abandoning armed struggle and instead backed a peaceful path toward self-determination, modeled after Kosovo’s experience.

“Armed struggle is already obsolete,” an MNLF representative told delegates from Bukidnon, Misamis Oriental, Camiguin, and Lanao del Norte. “We join the call for independence through peaceful means, asking the United Nations to conduct a plebiscite and let the people decide.”

The renewed discussions also revisited more recent history. 

MNLF founding chairman Nur Misuari declared Mindanao’s independence in 2013 after peace talks for the full implementation of the 1996 OIC-brokered agreement were halted under the Aquino administration. The MNLF flag was raised in Davao City, which Misuari declared as the capital of the proposed Bangsamoro Republik Mindanao.

A follow-up attempt to raise the flag in Zamboanga City ended in violence after government forces intercepted an MNLF contingent from Sulu, sparking three weeks of fighting.

Organizers said the current round of consultations aims to avoid repeating those chapters of conflict. The goal, they stressed, is to arrive at a unified Mindanaoan position amid what they describe as the region’s growing political isolation.

The consultations have already been held in Sultan Kudarat, covering Central Mindanao and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, as well as in Northern Mindanao. The final leg is scheduled in Caraga in January, with a culminating manifesto and resolution set to be unveiled in Zamboanga City in early February.