Free Republic

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (AP) — Muslims in the southern Philippines overwhelmingly approved in a referendum the creation of a new autonomous region in hopes of ending nearly half a century of unrest, election officials said. The Commission on Elections announced late Friday that the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is deemed ratified following a referendum on Monday. It says 1.5 million people voted in favor. Bangsamoro replaces an existing poverty-wracked autonomous region with a larger, better-funded and more powerful entity. It is the result of a tumultuous peace effort by the government in Manila and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front,...