However, the MNLF proved more adept at obtaining media access than the MILF under Hashim Salamat, and in September 1986, Nur Misuari returned to the Philippines, frustrating even more the MILF's attempts to gain exposure. President Aquino, defying protocol and the counsel of her government and military advisers, went to Jolo and met with Misuari. This meeting received full media exposure and was considered a historical event; it set the stage for the Jeddah Accord in 1987.[1]