As the first regular parliamentary elections of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region approach, an unsettling trend has emerged: Facebook has begun deleting pages and posts tied to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and other Bangsamoro voices. Among the casualties was Bangsamoro Media Productions, a long-standing platform that shared updates on the region’s governance.
For Deputy Minister Zul Qarneyn Abas, the takedown made no sense. The page violated no rules. It simply posted news, photos, and statements from leaders who are no longer rebels but officials of a legally recognized government. Yet Facebook branded it a violation of its policy on “Dangerous Individuals and Organizations.”
This is more than an inconvenience. It is digital censorship. And it strikes at the very heart of the peace process.
Algorithms Don’t Understand Context
Meta (Facebook’s parent company) relies heavily on algorithms—computer programs that scan posts and automatically decide what stays or gets deleted. These systems were designed to block terrorist propaganda or extremist groups. The problem is, they don’t understand context.
To the algorithm, “MILF” might mean something dangerous. It could even confuse it with the adult slang that shares the same acronym. It doesn’t care if the post is about a Chief Minister attending a peace assembly or a government official giving a statement. The word itself is enough to trigger a takedown.
And because these programs are built to make quick decisions across billions of posts every day, they often remove legitimate content along with harmful material. Human review comes late, or sometimes not at all.
Why Now? Why Target Bangsamoro?
The bigger question is timing. Why are these deletions happening now—right before the Bangsamoro parliamentary elections? Why are posts showing officials of the MILF, who are part of the peace process and the regional government, being erased as if they were extremists?
The effect is unmistakable: the voices of Bangsamoro leaders are being silenced online. Whether this is a glitch of technology or something influenced by political forces, the result is the same. A people long denied a platform are once again finding themselves muted—this time in the digital space.
It is not paranoia for many to recall the martial law years, when dissenting voices were systematically repressed. Today, repression comes not with arrests or midnight raids, but with a simple notification: “Your post goes against our community standards.”
The Consequences
This is not just about Facebook pages. It is about the democratic process. When entire communities lose access to platforms where they share their narratives, a distorted picture of reality emerges.
The MILF is not an underground armed group anymore. It is part of the Bangsamoro Government, born out of a hard-won peace agreement. Erasing their content erases history, achievements, and the legitimacy of the peace process itself.
A Call to Action
Meta must do better.
- Recognize context. The term “MILF” in the Philippines is not the same as elsewhere. Moderation must take culture, language, and politics into account.
- Provide transparency. Users deserve clear explanations and fair appeals when content is removed, especially when it involves public officials.
- Respect democracy. Social media companies have a responsibility not to disrupt elections or silence legitimate political speech.
- Listen to local voices. Decisions that affect Bangsamoro communities must involve Bangsamoro journalists, civil society, and leaders who understand the ground realities.
The Bangsamoro peace process is one of the Philippines’ most significant democratic achievements. To treat its leaders as “dangerous” is an insult to the years of struggle that turned conflict into dialogue.
If Meta cannot adjust its systems to account for this reality, then it is complicit in rewriting history and undermining peace.
For the Bangsamoro, silence is not new. But after centuries of struggle, after finally gaining political voice, they should not be silenced again—this time by algorithms that cannot tell the difference between war and peace.