The coalition party leaders gather on Sunday, 28 April 2024, in Marawi City. Contributed photo
MARAWI CITY (MindaNews / 29 April) – Top leaders of at least four major political parties in the Bangsamoro region gathered here on Sunday in a show of force for the first Bangsamoro Parliament election in May 2025.
Lanao del Sur Vice Governor Mohammad Khalid Raki-in Adiong, president of the Serbisyong Inklusibo-Alyansang Progresibo Party (SIAP), said they have coalesced with the Al-Ittihad-UKB Party, Salam Party and Bangsamoro People’s Party (BPP) in a bid to dominate the 80-member Bangsamoro Parliament in next year’s election.
Al-Ittihad-UKB was founded by Secretary Suharto Mangudadatu of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), Salam Party by Sulu Governor Sakur Tan, and BPP by Basilan Representative Mujiv Hataman.
“The coalition will come up with a list of nominees for the BARMM Parliament election in 2025,” Adiong told reporters during the general assembly of SIAP here.
Lanao del Sur Vice Governor Mohammad Khalid Raki-in Adiong, SIAP president, told reporters on 28 April 2024 in Marawi City that a grand coalition with three other political parties will vie for the leadership of the BARMM Parliament. MindaNews photo by FROILAN GALLARDO
Up for grabs in next year’s historic Bangsamoro Parliament election are 40 seats for the political party system, 32 single-member parliamentary districts and eight sectoral representatives.
The interim 80-member Bangsamoro Transition Authority is currently dominated by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), as mandated by the Bangsamoro Organic Law, the charter that created the BARMM.
Adiong said that if the coalition party wins majority of the parliamentary seats, they would choose who would be the Chief Minister.
Bangsamoro Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim has been serving in an interim capacity, having been appointed first by former President Rodrigo Duterte in 2019 and reappointed in 2022 by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
In a show of force on Sunday, SIAP founder Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Adiong, Tan, Hataman, Mangudadatu and his wife Maguindanao del Sur Governor Mariam Sangki Mangudadatu attended SIAP’s general assembly at the 3,700-seat Sarimanok Sports Stadium beside Lake Lanao in Marawi City, which was filled to the rafters by Lanao del Sur supporters.
The younger Adiong said the governors under the coalition have yet to decide whether to seek parliamentary sea
ts.
He said he and his father, Lanao del Sur Governor Adiong, have still one more term and are more inclined to serve their province first instead of the Bangsamoro Parliament.
Marawi Mayor Majul Gandamra also told reporters that he is also inclined to seek reelection in the May 2025 elections.
Former Bangsamoro Local Governments Minister Naguib Sinarimbo, who joined the SIAP after bolting the MILF’s United Bangsamoro Justice Party, said the candidates from the coalition “will have a better grasp of the problems” than the present Bangsamoro government leadership who belong to the MILF.
“It has become a perennial problem to connect the aspirations of the LGUs (local government units) with that of the BARMM regional government, which are manned by former rebels. As a result, the delivery of key services is affected,” Sinarimbo said.
On the other hand, he said that candidates from the coalition party “have direct linkages
with local government units and would understand the local dynamics in governance,” apparently referring to local politicians or traditional leaders who will be part of their team.
On Saturday, leaders of the coalition party also gathered in separate events in Cotabato City, the seat of the BARMM government, and in Datu Abdullah Sangki, Maguindanao del Sur to solidify their political bases and make public their intentions to challenge in the elections the current MILF leadership of the BARMM. (Froilan Gallardo / MindaNews)
