Hajji Hajji ( ar, الحجّي; sometimes spelled Hadji, Haji, Alhaji, Al-Hadj, Al-Haj or El-Hajj) is an honorific title which is given to a Muslim who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca. It is also often used to refer to an elder, since i ...

Salik B. Abu more commonly known as Ghazali Jaafar (6 May 1944 – 13 March 2019) was a Filipino militant and government official. He fought under the

Moro Islamic Liberation Front The Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF; ar, ''Jabhat Taḥrīr Moro al-ʾIslāmiyyah'') is a group based in Mindanao seeking an autonomous region of the Moro people from the central government. The group has a presence in the Bangsamoro r ...

(MILF). He served as chairman of the

Bangsamoro Transition Commission The Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) was a government body which was tasked to aid in creating the draft of the Bangsamoro Organic Law as well as the transition body in the areas to form the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region until the constituti ...

(BTC), and the Speaker of the Parliament designate under the

Bangsamoro Transition Authority The Bangsamoro Transition Authority is the interim regional government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of the Philippines and has executive and legislative powers over the region. History With the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law ...

(BTA), the interim regional government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Early life

Jaafar was born on May 6, 1944. While in high school, Jaafar established a youth group that encouraged activism among students and out-of-school youth in

Cotabato City Cotabato City, officially the City of Cotabato ( Maguindanaon: ''Kuta nu Kutawatu'', Jawi: كوتا نو كوتاواتو; Iranun: ''Bandar a Kotawato'', بندر ا كوتاواتو; fil, Lungsod ng Cotabato), is a third class independent c ...

. He pursued a course in political science at

Notre Dame College Notre Dame College (Notre Dame College of Ohio or NDC) is a private Roman Catholic college in South Euclid, Ohio. Established in 1922 as a women's college, it has been coeducational since January 2001. Notre Dame College offers 30 majors and i ...

with an intention to become a lawyer, but stopped studies to join the Moro armed struggle against the government.

Career

Militant

Jaafar was a member of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that initially campaigned for an independent state in

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

, but later pursued autonomy for

Bangsamoro ar, منطقة بانجسامورو ذاتية الحكم فى مسلمى مينداناو , native_name = , settlement_type = Autonomous region , anthem = Bangsamoro Hymn , image_skyline ...

region. He was the group's Vice Chair. Jaafar led MILF's dialogue with the national government, serving as the first chairman of the group's negotiating panel from 1996 to 1997. He signed the general cessation of hostilities in Cagayan de Oro on July 18, 1997. The MILF signed a peace agreement with the national government in 2014 under the administration of then-President

Benigno Aquino III Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III (; February 8, 1960 – June 24, 2021), also known as Noynoy Aquino and colloquially as PNoy, was a Filipino politician who served as the 15th president of the Philippines from 2010 to 2016. The son of ...

Bangsamoro transition

Under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, Jaafar led the BTC, a body tasked to aid in the creation of a draft of the Bangsamoro Organic Law. He was named into the BTA and made his last public appearance in February 2019 when he and other members of the transition body were sworn in. He was later designated to serve as the Speaker of the Bangsamoro Parliament.

Illness and death

Months prior to his death on March 13, 2019, Jaafar was experiencing an internal illness. In 2018, he was rushed a hospital in Metro Manila due to a heart problem. His last three days were at the Metro Davao Medical and Research Center in

Davao City Davao City, officially the City of Davao ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Dabaw; ), is a first class highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of , making it the largest city in the Philippines in terms of lan ...

. He died due to

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaafar, Ghazali 1944 births 2019 deaths Deaths from kidney failure Filipino Muslims Moro Islamic Liberation Front members