Comelec told: Mangudadatu's deceased father, kin still in voters' list

COTABATO CITY , Philippines  – Leaders of the Moro royalty in the hometown of Maguindanao gubernatorial candidate Ismael Mangudadatu have appealed to the Commission in Elections (Comelec) to investigate how his own father, Powa Mangudadatu, and a number of relatives are still in the registry of municipal voters despite their deaths many years ago.

Datu Mastor Salendab, a relative of Mangudadatu, said the Comelec should delist the names of members of the Mangudadatu clan who have long died from their town’s list of qualified voters to prove that it is for honest, peaceful and clean elections.

Salendab, a scion of a big Moro clan in Buluan town, brought the issue to the attention of police military, police and Comelec officials in Central Mindanao during a forum at the Notre Dame University here yesterday.

Also still listed in the town’s voters’ list, according to Salendab, are Mangudadatu’s sibling, Tabah Gagal Mangudadatu, and another relative named Sultan Sabdullah Mangudadatu.

“His father died before the 2004 synchronized local and national elections, yet his father’s name remained in the list of voters in Buluan during the 2007 elections (and) the 2008 elections in the ARMM (Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao), and it is still there until now,” Salendab said.

Salendab said he and many other relatives of Mangudadatu in the second district of Maguindanao have distanced themselves from him during the start of the campaign period for fear of getting unduly involved in the “rido” (blood feud) between the Mangudadatus and the Ampatuans in the towns of Shariff Aguak, Mamasapano, Datu Unsay and Datu Saudi.

Twenty-four of Maguindanao’s 36 mayors fused ranks Thursday against the candidacy of Mangudadatu, saying his “rido” with big clans as a consequence of the Nov. 23 massacre would badly affect his leadership if he wins as Maguindanao governor.

Among the mayors were his relative Buniao Calih, mayor of S.K. Pendatun town, and local officials in Paglat town.

The 24 mayors, some of them from vote-rich towns near Mangudadatu’s hometown of Buluan, located in the second district of Maguindanao, have expressed support for his rival, Datu Odin Mayor Ombra Sinsuat.

“We want a governor who is at peace with all political clans in Maguindanao. One who has a deep-seated animosity with one or more clans in the province will not be an efficient leader,” Pagalungan Mayor Norodin Matalam told reporters during the meeting of the 24 mayors in Parang town Thursday.