BARMM polls: 7 bets battle for 2 special territory seats

Rappler

The candidates include former BARMM interim chief minister Al Haj Murad's son Mansor and BTA member Butch Malang in the 1st district, and several independent candidates competing against UBJP and BFP bets in the 2nd district

AT A GLANCE

• Candidates in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao's Special Geographic Area are intensifying their campaigns for parliamentary seats as election day approaches.
• The SGA consists of 63 barangays from Cotabato province, divided into two districts with a total of 133,674 registered voters.

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CEBU, Philippines – With the region’s election day fast approaching, candidates in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao’s (BARMM) Special Geographic Area (SGA) are stepping up their campaigns for district parliamentary seats.

The SGA is composed of 63 barangays from the Cotabato province in the Soccsksargen region that joined the Bangsamoro region through a 2019 plebiscite. The SGA, composed of relatively new towns, are divided into two districts.

The 1st district includes the new BARMM towns of Kadayangan, Nabalawag, Pahamuddin, and Tugunan, where there are 62,637 registered voters, acording to Comelec’s data as of May 8.

The 2nd district comprises Malidegao, Ligawasan, Old Kaabakan, and Kapalawan, where there are a total of 71,037 registered voters.

All in all, there are at least 133,674 registered voters in the SGA.

Below are electoral races happening in the two parliamentary districts of the SGA:

1st District: Murad’ son and former SGA administrator

In the 1st district, Mansor Ebrahim, son of United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UJBP) president and former BARMM interim chief minister Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim, is up against Butch Malang, former SGA Development Authority (SGADA) administrator. Malang is a member of the region’s interim Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA).

Mansor is running under UBJP, the political party of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) where his father is the incumbent chairman. Malang is running under the Bangsamoro Federalist Party (BFP), led by BARMM Interim Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua. 

In mid-August, Macacua took over as president of the BFP, succeeding Member of Parliament Tomanda Antok, the party’s founding chairman. Antokan is running for the parliamentary seat of the 3rd district of Cotabato City.

Mansor and Malang both have ties to the MILF — the former being the son of the MILF chair and the latter having served as a deputy commander of the Central Mindanao Front of the MILF’s Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces.

Macacua himself, who succeeded Murad, headed the MILF’s armed wing.

In June, Malang announced that he has stepped down as chairman of the MILF Coordinating Committee on the Cessation of Hostilities (CCCH). However, in an August 19 Facebook post, Malang maintained that he is still a member of the MILF.

2nd District: Lawyer, town administrator, ex-colonel, MP, and teacher

In the 2nd district, there are three independent candidates competing with UBJP and BFP bets for the parliamentary seat.

Among the independents is retired Army colonel Kenindia Sinagandal from Malidegao. Sinaganda, however, is associated with the Al-Ittihad-Ungaya sa Kawagib Nu Bangsamoro (UKB) party, led by former Sultan Kudarat governor Suharto Mangudadatu.

Another is independent candidate Allanuddin Hassan, a lawyer who has handled legal cases involving members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces-MILF.

BARMM Member of Parliament and Health Minister Kadil Sinolinding Jr. is also running as an independent candidate. An ophthalmologist, Sinolinding, previously served as a regional secretary of the Department of Health in the now-defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. 

Elaysa Enalang, a former municipal administrator of Kapawalan town and media personality, is representing the UBJP. Enalang is the younger sister of MILF Kapalawan provincial committee commander Datu Kineg Enalang.

The BFP’s bet is Dulia Dandalanin Sultan. Sultan is the barangay chairperson of Nunguan in Malidegao and a teacher with a doctorate in public administration and philosophy.

Sultan’s daughter, Muhyryn Sultan-Casi, is the mayor of Pikit town in Cotabato province, while her husband, Sumulong Sultan, is the municipal vice mayor. Muhyryn’s husband is Pigkawayan, Cotabato Vice Mayor Niel Jake Casi. – Rappler.com