16 parties brace for BARMM polls

COTABATO CITY — Sixteen regional parties will pit candidates for the first ever parliamentary polls in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) on Sept. 14, officials of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) here said on Wednesday.

Among the 16 parties are the newly launched Bangsamoro Federalist Party that has thousands of members and followers, including incumbent local executives across BARMM’s five provinces, the equally large and influential Bangsamoro Party of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) and the Serbisyong Inklusibo, Alyansang Progresibo.

The United Bangsamoro Justice Party of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front also has candidates for seats in the 80-seat BARMM parliament, presently occupied by lawmakers appointed by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.

Thousands of Muslim and Christian supporters on Tuesday converged along the access routes to the 32-hectare BARMM compound in uptown Cotabato City to show support for the Bangsamoro Federalist Party, after their officials filed before the Comelec their petition to participate in the upcoming elections.

Among the senior officials of the Bangsamoro Federalist Party are the incumbent BARMM parliament members Naguib A. Sinarimbo and Tumanda D. Antok, who, along with another regional lawmaker, Michael E. Midtimbang, submitted then to the lawyer Ray A. Sumalipao, regional director of Comelec, their petition for the poll body’s imprimatur for their bloc to participate in the regional electoral exercise.

In a press briefing, Mr. Sinarimbo said members of the Bangsamoro Federalist Party recognize Bangsamoro Chief Minister Abdulrauf A. Macacua as figurehead of the Bangsamoro parliament and of all the ministries and support agencies of the Bangsamoro government.

“Our favored bet for chief minister of the region, to become figurehead of the parliament, if the elections pushes through as scheduled, is our current most senior official, Chief Minister Macacua, if he would aspire for a seat in the parliament to represent his district to the region’s lawmaking body,” Mr. Sinarimbo, Bangsamoro Federalist Party’s Cotabato City chapter president, said.

The MNLF’s Bangsamoro Party, led by senior members of the front, including BARMM Labor and Employment Minister Muslimin G. Sema, was the first to seek Comelec’s permission to participate in the upcoming BARMM elections.

The Bangsamoro Party is popular for its policy of not allowing members to attack or criticize abusively, via the mainstream media, or through Facebook, the political platforms of other regional parties in the autonomous region.

The MNLF group led by BARMM parliament member Abdulkarim T. Misuari also has its Mahardika Party that now has favored bets for the regional parliament. — John Felix M. Unson