MANILA, 2 September 2006 — A court yesterday gave jailed Muslim leader Nur Misuari temporary freedom to join festivities marking a peace accord he signed 10 years ago, while another denied former first lady Imelda Marcos’ request to seek treatment in Hong Kong.

Misuari, founder of the former mainstream Muslim rebel group Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), accepted limited autonomy under the Sept. 2, 1996, peace deal with the government.

As part of the accord, he was elected governor of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). He later on fell out of the graces of the government and was arrested by Malaysian authorities in late 2001 as he fled the country following disastrous attacks by his followers on a military camp in the southern Jolo.

More than 100 people were killed in the short-lived uprising, most of them Misuari’s supporters. A separate pocket rebellion in nearby Zamboanga City was also quelled.

Turned over by Malaysian authorities to the Philippine government, Misuari was thrown in a police jail south of Manila and charged with rebellion. He was later placed under house arrest after he complained of illness.

When he attends today celebration of the peace accord, he would be meeting former President Fidel Ramos, under whose term the pact was signed.

Jesus Dureza, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s peace adviser, said it was just right that Misuari be allowed to attend the festivities since he was a key player in the agreement.

“Misuari’s presence is very important in the celebration ... It won’t be good if one of the principal signatories is absent and even in jail,” Dureza said.

A Makati City court hearing Misuari’s rebellion case ordered police to take Misuari to Davao, about 980 kilometers southeast of Manila, early today for the celebration and to bring him back to Manila by noon.

Imelda Marcos' Trip

Meanwhile, the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan stopped Imelda Marcos from leaving for Hong Kong, where she wanted to get traditional Chinese medical treatment for weak knees.

The widow of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, Imelda faces civil and criminal cases over billions of dollars in unexplained wealth amassed during her husband’s 20-year rule. She is not in detention but must get court permission to leave the country.

A court official told reporters Imelda was only arraigned in 10 of 11 criminal cases against her and all charges needed to be read in court before she could apply for a permit to travel overseas.

The official said the court had recently discovered the omission.

Her lawyers disputed the explanation and said there must have been a mix-up in the documentation.

The 77-year-old Imelda, famous for owning 1,200 pairs of shoes and a vast collection of jewelry that the cash-strapped government is trying to auction, wanted to see an expert in Chinese traditional medicine from this month.

She has been complaining of pain in her hip and knees, said her lawyer Robert Sison yesterday. The court gave Imelda permission to travel to Hong Kong in February for the medical reasons but she postponed the trip saying she preferred instead to stay at home and donate a 630,000 peso ($12,417) travel bond to victims of a landslide.

Deposed President Joseph Estrada, under house arrest on charges of plunder, went to Hong Kong in December 2004 to have knee-replacement surgery. (With reports from agencies)