Retired Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said the country’s Catholic bishops, particularly those in Mindanao, support the creation of a Bangsamoro homeland for Muslim Filipinos and were positive about the “Framework Agreement” signed by the Aquino administration and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.
Cruz noted however that the Moro homeland should not have been called Bangsamoro as this means the “Nation of Moros.” He said Moros is a pejorative term in Spanish (in the Philippine context) which means bad people.
However supporters of the peace deal say that Muslim Filipinos in Mindanao have overcome these and have used it to describe their regional identity.
