BARMM parties cooperating to ensure peaceful regional polls

COTABATO CITY — Officials of four of the 16 parties have cautioned members and supporters against maligning any of the regional political blocs and anointed bets for the Sept. 14 parliamentary polls.

This followed exchanges on Facebook of heated tirades among some dignitaries belonging to certain parties in the last two weeks, after the regional office of the Commission on Elections permitted the 16 partisan blocs to pit candidates.

Basilan Governor Mujiv S. Hataman of the Bangsamoro People’s Party, Lanao del Sur Govenor Mamintal A. Adiong, Jr. of the Serbisyong Inklusibo, Alyansang Progresibo, Bangsamoro Regional Employment Minister Muslimin G. Sema of the Bangsamoro Party, and Naguib A. Sinarimbo of the Bangsamoro Federalist Party on Sunday separately urged the members of their respective parties not to engage in malicious bickering with those in other partisan groups.

Mr. Hataman said they will not hesitate to censure any member of the Bangsamoro People’s Party found to have maliciously besmirched any party, or aspirants for a seat in the parliament, on Facebook, or on any media platform.

“We are for peaceful and orderly elections. We don’t want conflicts among members of different regional political parties,” Mr. Hataman said.

Mr. Sema, who is chairman of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), said they have directed all members of the Bangsamoro Party to refrain from making derogatory statements against officials of the 15 other regional parties and their candidates.

“We will not gain anything from such provocative activities that are, for us, in the Bangsamoro Party, against our principles meant to foster co-existence and solidarity among Muslims, Christians and the indigenous communities in the Bangsamoro region,” Mr. Sema said.

The MNLF’s Bangsamoro Party, also known as the “Bapa Party,” has members in all of the five provinces and three cities in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

“MNLF leaders in the provinces and cities in the Bangsamoro region will take immediate action against members of our party, or supporters, who shall violate that policy,” Mr. Sema said.

Mr. Sinarimbo, who is an appointed member of the BARMM parliament, and Mr. Adiong, now in his second term as Lanao del Sur governor, separately said on Sunday that they have encouraged members of the Bangsamoro Federalist Party and the Serbisyong Inklusibo, Alyansang Progresibo, respectively, not to engage in political mudslinging to prevent sparking animosity among them and those in other regional parties.

Brig. Gen. Jaysen C. De Guzman, director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, and Army Lt. Gen. Donald M. Gumiran, commander of the military’s Western Mindanao Command, separately told reporters that they appreciate the efforts of BARMM regional political parties to help ensure peaceful parliamentary polls.

The Sept. 14 parliamentary polls will be the first ever in BARMM since its creation in 2019, replacing the then 27-year less empowered Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. The current members of the Bangsamoro parliament are functioning based on appointments issued by President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. — John Felix M. Unson