PRESIDENT Marcos Jr. yesterday urged residents of Maguindanao del Norte and the rest of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) to go out and exercise their right to vote in the region’s first parliamentary elections in May 2025.
The President, in his speech during the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on Bangsamoro (CAB), made the call as he assured Mindanaoans of an honest, orderly and credible polls next year.
“I also take this opportunity to remind you to exercise your right to suffrage as you chart your political future in the forthcoming first BARMM elections in May 2025. This is the fulfillment of your democratic right to realize and achieve meaningful autonomy, as is enshrined in the CAB,” he said.
The CAB was signed by the government and the MILF on March 27, 2014, or 17 years after peace negotiations started in 1997.
Marcos urged the Bangsamoro voters to “safeguard those rights, empower yourselves, take part in our shared task of nation-building.”
He said he expects not just a clean and peaceful elections but he also expects candidates to live by the Bangsamoro principles, especially the “Bangsamoro Muna Bago Sarili.”
The President warned those who are planning to derail the BARMM elections that they would be treated as enemies of the state if they do that.
“Let this also serve as a warning to those who may plan to threaten and derail this upcoming election: Huwag nyo nang isipin ‘yan dahil ang kakalabanin na ninyo ay ang pamahalaan (Let this also serve as a warning to those who may plan to threaten and derail this upcoming election: Do not think about it because you will be fighting the government),” he said.
Marcos said that instead of derailing the polls, they should instead channel their energy in helping build productive and thriving communities where citizens are offered livelihood opportunities and healthy living spaces.
The President also said that people will continue to reject the selfish agenda of those “who preach the discarded and debunked ideology of dismemberment.”
“As we forge ahead, let us dedicate our work to those who did not see the dawn of peace break. We each lost generations of good men and women, causing unnecessary grief to their families. We held back decades of shared growth, we needlessly lost innocent lives in the crossfire,” he added.
Basilan Rep. Mujiv Hataman, a member of the opposition, welcomed the President’s assurance that the 2025 BARMM elections will push through as scheduled.
“Malinaw na malinaw ang sinabi ni Pangulong Marcos: tuloy na tuloy na ang BARMM elections sa susunod na taon (President Marcos’ statement is clear: the BARMM elections next year will push through). His statement left no room for ambiguity. The people of the Bangsamoro will get an opportunity to exercise their democratic rights under the Constitution and under the Bangsamoro Organic Law,” Hataman said.
Hataman, a former governor of the now defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), lauded the President’s commitment to hold honest and orderly elections in BARMM next year, saying the time has come for the Bangsamoro people to choose their own leaders.
“Natutuwa tayo na kinikilala ng Pangulo ang karapatan ng mga taga-Bangsamoro region na pumili kung sino ang mamumuno sa kanila. Napakahalaga sa puntong ito sa kasaysayan ng BARMM (I’m elated that the President recognizes the right of the people of the Bangsamoro region to choose their leaders. It’s very important at this point in BARMM’s history). This is the culmination of the people’s right to self-determination and self-governance that many fought for,” he said.
The President, after the event, led the inauguration of the Malitubog-Maridagao Irrigation Project II (MMIP II) in Pikit, Cotabato where he vowed to develop more agricultural programs and infrastructure projects in Mindanao under the “Build, Better, More” program of the government.
“Hayaan ninyong maggawad ako ng panata. Hindi lang po irigasyon ang dadaloy sa inyong lupain. Marami pang proyektong pang-agrikultura ang darating. Marami pa pong serbisyo ang ilalaan upang maitaas ang antas ng pamumuhay ng ating mga kababayan, lalo na ang mga nasa BARMM. Ginagarantiya ko sa inyo na ang Build Better More na programa natin, ay hindi lang pangkalunsuran, eto ay pangkanayunan, at pangkalahatan (Let me make a vow. Irrigation is not the only thing that will flow in your land. More agricultural projects are coming. Many more services will be provided to raise the standard of living of our countrymen, especially those in BARMM. I guarantee you that our Build Better More program is not just for the urban area, it is for the rural area, and for all),” Marcos said.
The MMIP II in Villarica, Midsayap is expected to supply water to over 10,000 hectares of farmland in Pikit and Aleosan in Cotabato, and Pagalungan and Datu Montawal in Maguindanao, which is twice the size of Manila City.
More than 4,000 farmers are expected to benefit from the project, including former MILF members.
The President highlighted the importance of MMIP II especially in promoting food security in the country, saying that the project will help make Mindanao lands more fertile and bring “many bountiful harvests, nourish many families and ensure that their children would get their fair share of progress.”
