MILF: BARMM, UBJP has not endorsed any national candidate

Posted to the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Website (Apr1, 2022): BARMM, UBJP has not endorsed any national candidate (By Alexander Iskandar, Luwaran)

Mohagher Iqbal (Google photo)

Cotabato City (March 16, 2022)—The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) and the United Bangsamoro Justice Party, have not yet endorsed any bet for a national position.

 
In two separate ambush interviews on Wednesday — after Vice President Leni Robredo visited the Bangsamoro Government Center (BGC) in the city — Bangsamoro Minister of Education Mohagher Iqbal and Minister of Interior Naguib Sinarimbo confirmed that they are still waiting to hear the platforms of other candidates for the 2022 presidential race, according to a post by Mindanews on March 16, 2022,

Iqbal, also Chief of the MILF Implementing Peace Panel went further to say that he does not think the Bangsamoro Government, which handles the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), will endorse anyone, the Mindanews report said.

There is no official pronouncement from the BARMM. In my perspective, I don’t see that the BARMM would come out with an official statement about the candidate they would support in the upcoming elections but all candidates are welcome and would be given a chance to make presentations, Iqbal said.

At the center of what we want to hear from them is their platform about BARMM, the Moro issue, and also how to preserve and promote the gains of the peace process, Iqbal told Mindanews during the interview.

For his part, Sinarimbo clarified that UBJP, like the Bangsamoro Government, has not yet picked a candidate to support in the 2022 polls.

And then the leadership would decide, just like the party of the MILF, the United Bangsamoro Justice Party and the Bangsamoro Government would decide who is the most deserving to be president of the country, he added.

But unlike Iqbal who thinks that BARMM as a whole would not make any endorsement, Sinarimbo revealed that there were internal talks as to when the endorsement would be made public.

We have had internal discussions on when the official endorsement would be out. But our timetable is dependent on the opportunity for other national candidates to present so that we can be fair and pick objectively, Mindanews quoting Sinarimbo saying.

Recently, presidential candidates Isko Moreno Domagoso and Leni Robredo visited Cotabato City.

[Luwaran is the official online publication of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Committee on Information, MILF Central Committee]

https://www.luwaran.com/news/article/2448/barmm__ubjp_has_not_endorsed_any_national_candidate