TACURONG CITY (MindaNews / 12 May) — While Cotabato City, the seat of government of the Bangsamoro region, will soon be under the political grip of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) after majority of the candidates it fielded dominated the local elections, the front lost big time in Maguindanao, the MILF’s traditional bailiwick.
In a historic move after decades of rebellion, the MILF joined the May 9 political fray by fielding candidates under the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP), the political party it founded in 2014 following the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro after 17 years of negotiations with the Philippine government.
Results of the May 9 elections in Cotabato City went heavily in favor of the MILF, with UBJP bet Bruce Matabalao, a three-term city councilor, upsetting the reelection bid of Mayor Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi (NPC), the city’s first and only female elected mayor.
Matabalao garnered at least 29,818 votes while Guiani-Sayadi obtained 22,939 votes.
Matabalao’s running mate, City Councilor Butch Abu, son of the late MILF vice chairman for political affairs Ghadzali Jaafar, also defeated incumbent Vice Mayor Graham Nazer Dumama (NPC) and Nasrudin Mohammad (Ind) with 27,117, 20,730 and 3,568 votes, respectively.
Seven out of the 10 city council seats were also bagged by UBJP candidates.
“Observe magnanimity in victory – that is Islam,” Abdulraof Macacua, UBJP secretary-general, said.
Guiani-Sayadi, a lawyer, is a vocal critic of the MILF, campaigning hard against the inclusion of Cotabato City to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) during the plebiscite in January 2019.
However, at least 36,682 voters favored the ratification of Republic Act 11054 or the Organic Law for the BARMM, popularly known as the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL), while 24,994 voted against it.
Naguib Sinarimbo, UBJP deputy secretary general, said that with the overwhelming win of UBJP candidates in Cotabato City, the “harang mentality” in the city has been toppled, referring to the apparent refusal of the city government headed by Guiani-Sayadi to cooperate with the Bangsamoro government.
“Rest assured that we will do our best to improve the lives of people in the city,” Sinarimbo, also the Bangsamoro Minister for the Interior and Local Government, said in Filipino.
On behalf of Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim, MILF chair and UBJP president, Sinarimbo expressed the party’s gratitude to their supporters in Cotabato City.
But while the UBJP rejoiced in Cotabato City, it was a disaster for the party in Maguindanao, the MILF’s traditional bailiwick, after its candidates for the major positions suffered defeat.
UBJP gubernatorial bet Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu, incumbent representative of the second district, failed to unseat incumbent Gov. Bai Mariam Sangki-Mangudadatu, who won her second term.
“For the past 27 years, I have unselfishly pushed for transformative leadership in Maguindanao. I persevered in putting emphasis on ensuring peace and order, the marginalized voices are heard, and the welfare of the Bangsamoro people is taken care of. There are so many work to be done and yet by a twist of fate, maybe Allah (swt) intervened so I can take a step back to reflect on the bigger tasks He has for me,” Mangudadatu, former three-term Maguindanao governor (2010 to 2019), said.
He profusely thanked those who supported his campaign even if his bid turned out in vain.
Sangki-Mangudadatu, who ran under Nacionalista Party (NP), is the wife of Sultan Kudarat Gov. Suharto “Teng” Mangudadatu, who did not seek a political position for the May 9 pols.
Instead of Teng, their son Datu Pax Ali Mangudadatu ran and won as Sultan Kudarat governor against former beauty queen Sharifa Akeel, Toto’s wife.
Toto and Teng are cousins.
Sangki-Mangudadatu’s running mate, Bai Annie Sinsuat, defeated UBJP candidate Bai Sandra Sema, former Maguindanao first district representative.
Sangki-Mangudadatu’s party slate for first and the second congressional districts –Bangsamoro Member of Parliament Dimple Mastura and Tong Paglas, current vice mayor of Datu Paglas town – won the race against their UBJP and other party rivals.
Out of the 36 towns in Maguindanao, 22 NP mayoral bets emerged victorious, nine from UBJP and the rest belong to other political parties, the May 9 election results showed. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)
This report was produced with support from Internews.
