Moro Islamic Liberation FrontThe Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF; 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 region of Mindanao, the Sulu Archipelago, Palawan, Basilan, and other neighbouring islands. The armed wing of the group was the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF), although the name of its parent organization, the MILF, was often used to refer to the BIAF.
SamarSamar (ˈsɑːmɑr ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided into three provinces: Samar (formerly Western Samar), Northern Samar, and Eastern Samar. These three provinces, along with the provinces on the nearby islands of Leyte and Biliran, are part of the Eastern Visayas region.
MarawiMarawi, officially the Islamic City of Marawi (Maranao: Inged a Marawi; Islamikong Lungsod ng Marawi), is a 4th class component city and capital of the province of Lanao del Sur, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 207,010 people. Marawi is located upon the shores of Lake Lanao. It is primarily inhabited by the Maranao people. The city is also called the "summer capital of the south" due to its higher elevation and cooler climate, a nickname it shares with Malaybalay.
Celebes SeaThe Celebes Sea, (ˈsɛləˌbiːz,_səˈliːbiz; Laut Sulawesi, Laut Sulawesi, Dagat Selebes) or Sulawesi Sea, of the western Pacific Ocean is bordered on the north by the Sulu Archipelago and Sulu Sea and Mindanao Island of the Philippines, on the east by the Sangihe Islands chain, on the south by Sulawesi's Minahasa Peninsula, and on the west by northern Kalimantan in Indonesia. It extends 420 miles (675 km) north-south by east-west and has a total surface area of , to a maximum depth of .
Lake LanaoLake Lanao (Maranao: Ranao or Ranaw) is a large ancient lake in the province of Lanao del Sur, Philippines. With a surface area of , it is the largest lake in Mindanao, the deepest and second largest lake in the Philippines and counted as one of the 15 ancient lakes in the world. Scholars have been pushing for the lake's inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The lake's native people call themselves the Maranao or Meranaw. Their name was derived from the name of the lake, meaning "the people living around the lake".
IliganIligan, officially the City of Iligan (Dakbayan sa Iligan; Lungsod ng Iligan; Maranao: Inged a Iligan), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Northern Mindanao, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 363,115 people. It is geographically within the province of Lanao del Norte but administered independently from the province. It was once part of Central Mindanao (Region 12) until the province was moved under Northern Mindanao (Region 10) in 2001.
Zamboangueño peopleThe Zamboangueño people (Chavacano: Pueblo Zamboangueño), are a creole ethnolinguistic nation of the Philippines originating in Zamboanga City. Spanish censuses records previously showed that as much as one-third of the inhabitants of the city of Zamboanga possess varying degrees of Iberian and Hispanic-American admixture. In addition to this, select cities such as Iloilo, Bacolod, Dumaguete, Cebu, and Cavite, which were home to military fortifications and/or commercial ports during the Spanish era also hold sizable mestizo communities.
