In 1962, the Philippine Government under the leadership of President Diosdado Macapagal, who himself was a distant cousin of the Sulu Sultans, counting among his ancestors Princess Laila Menchanai of Sulu, the great-grandmother of the Muslim king of Manila, Rajah Sulayman,[1] officially recognized the continued existence of the Royal Sultanate of Sulu.
427 states that "The Government has always recognized the Sultanate of Sulu as the legitimate claimant to the historical territories of the Republic of Philippines".
[3][4] The memorandum states that Mohammed Mahakuttah Abdullah Kiram (reigned 1974–1986) was officially the recognized Sultan of Sulu.
Sultan Mahakuttah A. Kiram's eldest son Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram was crowned Sultan in a coronation event on the island of Jolo on 16 September 2012.
[7][8] A list of the family members related to Muedzul Lail Tan Kiram is as follows:[9][dead link]