BARMM residents mourn death of Maranao leader

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — Residents of Lanao del Sur’s 39 towns and capital city, Marawi, are mourning the demise of former governor Soraya Alonto-Adiong on Friday.

The former province chief was immediately buried in a cemetery near the border of Marawi and Ditsaan Ramain town, in keeping with the Islamic tradition of burying the dead within 24 hours after death.

Local executives in provinces of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and nearby regions also expressed sympathy. 

“We share with the grief of the Adiong and Alonto clans in Lanao del Sur,” said Gov. Emmylou Taliño-Mendoza, chairperson of the Regional Development Council 12.

 Alonto-Adiong, scion of a Maranao clan, is the mother of incumbent Gov. Mamintal Adiong Jr. and daughter of former senator Ahmad Alonto. Her husband, Mamintal  Adiong Sr., who had served as governor of Lanao del Sur for three consecutive terms, died of an illness in 2004.

Many of the Adiongs and Alontos supported the national government’s peace initiatives with the Moro National Liberation Front and Moro Islamic Liberation Front, whose leaders are together overseeing the operation of the now five-year-old BARMM government.