Philippines: Official flag of Bangsamoro adopted

By Ahmet Furkan Mercan

ANKARA (AA) – The official flag of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao was adopted Friday following a historic referendum that shaped the future of Moro Muslims living in the southern Philippines.

According to Lanang Ali, a member of the Bangsamoro Parliament, 36 of its 60 members voted “yes”, one “no” and there were five abstentions.

“Alhamdulillah, Parliament Bill No. 7 entitled ‘An Act Adopting an Official Flag of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao’ has already been approved on its third and final reading by the Bangsamoro Transition Authority,” Ali wrote on Facebook.

The Bangsamoro Transition Authority is the interim regional government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region.

Ali also shared a photo of the newly adopted flag, which consists of a star and crescent and a sword on white, red and green horizontal stripes.

Bangsamoro Muslims, long deprived of freedom under the U.S. and the modern Philippine state, were granted autonomy under a historic plebiscite held on Jan. 21 and Feb. 6 in southern Mindanao.