Thousands join BARMM's grand political coalition

COTABATO CITY — Rains did not dampen the zeal of thousands of residents, sectoral leaders and local officials to participate in the sortie of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Grand Coalition in Maluso town, Basilan on Sunday.

The BGC, eyeing to pit its candidates for BARMM’s first-ever 2025 parliamentary election, is jointly led by Basilan Rep. Mujiv Salliman Hataman, former Sultan Kudarat Gov. Suharto Tan Mangudadatu, who is director-general of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, and his spouse, Sultan Kudarat Gov. Mariam Sangki Mangudadatu, Lanao del Sur Gov. Mamintal Alonto Adiong Jr. and Sulu Gov. Abdusakur Mahail Tan.

Thousands of barangay folks, traditional Sama and Tausug leaders and local executives in Tawi-Tawi also joined in BGC’s political engagement on Saturday in Bongao, the capital of the island province, also attended by incumbent elected officials from this city, Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Basilan and Sulu.

Speakers in both gatherings, among them Tan, who is BGC’s anointed bet for chief minister of BARMM in next year’s regional parliamentary elections, talked extensively about what is for them mismanagement of the autonomous regional government by its interim officials functioning on appointive capacity, as a concession as part of Malacañang’s peace overture with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

The appointed chief minister of BARMM, Ahod Balawag Ebrahim, is chairman of the central committee of MILF that has two peace compacts with the national government, the 2012 Framework Agreement on Bangsamoro and, subsequently, the 2014 Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro.

Tan, figurehead of the Sallam regional political bloc, separately said, while in Bongao and in Maluso, that he is glad with the solidarity now, under the banner of the BGC, of many political leaders in BARMM’s six provinces and three cities.

Tan said the BGC promises to improve governance in the autonomous region via transparent spending for socio-economic and infrastructure programs of the regional government’s more than P70 billion yearly block grant from the national coffer if he becomes chief minister of BARMM.

“I swear to Allah that I shall serve you to the best I can once I get to the helm of the Bangsamoro parliament,” Tan told thousands of participants to the gathering of BGC members and supporters in Maluso, one of 11 towns in Basilan that also has two cities, Lamitan and Isabela.

Tan said he is grateful to local executives in Tawi-Tawi and in Basilan for helping them facilitate BGC’s gatherings in Tawi-Tawi and in Basilan.

Senior provincial police officials and commanders of Army units who provided security support for the events placed their estimate of the participants to each of the BGC sorties in Tawi-Tawi last Saturday and, subsequently in Basilan on Sunday at more than 80,000.