Cracks in MILF show as key figures join Lanao del Sur governor’s political group

GENERAL SANTOS, Philippines – Prominent political figures in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) positioned themselves for the first regional parliamentary elections in the Muslim-majority region.

Barely a year before the elections, political boundaries have been drawn and rifts have become prominent within the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF), the dominant group in the BARMM regional government.

On Saturday, April 27, known political figures from within and outside BARMM gathered in separate events in efforts to solidify their political bases and make public their intentions to challenge in the elections the current MILF leadership of the BARMM.

Conspicuously in these events, Joharie “Butch” Abu, the vice mayor of BARMM’s capital Cotabato City and whose father was a senior MILF leader, announced his decision to bolt the MILF’s United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP) to join the Serbisyong Inklusibo Alyansang Progresibo (SIAP), a regional political party founded by Lanao del Sur Governor Mamintal Adiong Jr..

Abu, who was inducted weeks earlier into the Marcos political party, Partido Federal ng Pilipinas (PFP), said it was not an easy decision for him to leave UBJP, a party led by BARMM Interim Chief Minister Ahod Balawag “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim, a close ally of his father.

Abu’s father, the late Hadji Salik Abu, more known as Ghazali Jaafar, was the MILF’s vice chairman for political affairs who was appointed in 2017 to chair the BTA. 

Already ill, the elder Abu collapsed during oath-taking ceremonies in Malacañang. He became the first BTA speaker. But, less than a month into his term, Abu died on March 13, 2019.

Seeking a higher position

In an official statement released on Friday, April 26, the younger Abu disclosed his intention to “seek a higher position,” sparking speculations that he would challenge his 2022 running-mate and now Cotabato City Mayor Mohammad “Bruce” Matabalao or to seek a seat in the BARMM parliament.

Abu took his oath as SIAP member along with several Cotabato City legislators – Hunyn Abu, Marouf Pasawiran, Henjie Ali, Abdulrakim Gabby Usman, and Kusin Taha, and 18 village chairpersons. 

The mass oath-taking rites on Saturday were held in Cotabato City and attended by SIAP officials and many of their supporters.

Among those who took their oath, surprisingly, was lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, the former BARMM interior minister whose public appearances became scarce after his controversial split from the BARMM government in December last year.

Sinarimbo was introduced in the ceremonies as president of the SIAP chapter in Cotabato City and the BARMM Special Geographic Areas, which were recently created into eight new towns whose mayors and other officials will be appointed by the BARMM chief minister.

Sinarimbo, known among colleagues in the regional government as a no-nonsense political strategist, played a crucial role in the formation of UBJP until it was officially accredited as a political party by the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

He denied that he has turned “anti-BARMM,” pointing out what he accomplished for the Bangsamoro region.

Alliances and coalitions

Sinarimbo said SIAP is open to alliances and coalitions with other political parties in the region, including UBJP, taking into consideration the political situation and geographic spread of the region.

SIAP is in a coalition with other political parties like the Al-Ittihad- Ungaya sa Kawagib nu Bangsamoro (AIUKB) party, and the Bangsamoro Peoples Party (BPP).

AIUKB was founded by Secretary Suharto Mangudadatu of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), while Basilan Representative Mujiv Hataman founded the BPP.

“To run a government in a parliamentary system, we need to have coalitions and alliances with other political parties,” said Sinarimbo.

‘Not only for a few’

At the AIUKB regional party convention in the town of Datu Abdullah Sangki, Maguindanao del Sur, on Saturday, Sultan Kudarat Governor Pax Ali Mangudadatu, took a swipe at the BARMM leadership.

“The BARMM was not created to benefit only a few, not the ‘datu,’ not the chief minister, not the members of parliament, but to serve every constituent of the Bangsamoro region,” Mangundadatu said.

He said the presence of other political party leaders from all over BARMM in Saturday’s convention was an indication that “we are all ready to face voters and are not scared to have the elections.”

Mangudadatu’s remarks touched on calls by civil society groups insisting on their demand for the term of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) to be extended until 2028, effectively canceling the first BARMM parliamentary elections in 2025.

The AIUKB convention was graced by Hataman, Sulu Governor Sakur Tan, Sulu Representative Munir Arbison, Maguindanao del Norte Representative Dimple Mastura, Maguindanao del Sur Representative Tong Paglas, and Lanao del Sur Mayors’ League president and SIAP chairman Dimnatang Pansar.

Challenge to MILF

This early, political lines have been drawn and have shown cracks in the MILF, which was responsible for forging a peace pact – the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) – with the government in 2014.

The CAB led to the establishment of the BARMM via the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) which provides for the creation of the BTA to serve as a transition and lawmaking body before a supposed election of new officials of the BARMM in 2022.

No elections transpired that year, and instead, the BTA’s term was extended by the national government, with old and new members mostly from the MILF given until 2025 to serve in the interim body.

The 2025 elections will end BTA’s term, and it will be replaced by a new set of BARMM lawmakers who will be voted into office regionwide.

During a Grand Iftar gathering in northern Kabuntalan, Maguindanao del Norte, in March,  Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr. quoted Marcos as saying, “The BARMM elections need to happen to give legitimacy and accountability to officials who will be chosen by the people.” – Rappler.com