Bangsamoro chief congratulates presumptive president Marcos, Jr.

MILF chair Al Haj Murad Ebrahim, also known as BARMM Interim Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim, rallies support for UBJP candidates during a rally in Cotabato City at the start of the campaign period. MindaNews file photo by BONG S. SARMIENTO

KORONADAL CITY (MindaNews / 13 May) – Bangsamoro Interim Chief Minister Ahod “Al Haj Murad” Ebrahim has sent a message of congratulations to presumptive president Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. for his victory in the May 9 polls.

“Please accept my warm congratulations on your electoral victory and my best wishes for your success as you prepare to take up the responsibilities and challenges as the 17^th President of the Republic of the Philippines,” wrote Ebrahim, also the chair of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

Ebrahim assured Marcos of the Bangsamoro government’s continued “openness, cooperation and friendship for the benefit of the Bangsamoro people and the Filipino nation.”

We shall be guided by the signed agreements and laws passed by the Republic of the Philippines, the Moro leader added.

Marcos appeared headed to a commanding win in the presidential race based on partial and unofficial results from the Commission on Elections’ transparency server.

He garnered 31,104,175 votes, more than half that of second placer Vice President Leni Robredo, who obtained 14,822,051 votes. The other presidential contenders lagged far behind.

In a letter dated May 12 and furnished to MindaNews on Friday, Ebrahim said he is looking forward to working with Marcos not only to develop closer relations but also to focus and coordinate “our efforts on the cause of peace, justice and development in the Bangsamoro homeland.”

As chair of the MILF, Ebrahim, together with Muslimin Sema, chair of the Council of 15 of the Moro National Liberation Front, endorsed the presidential bid of Vice President Leni Robredo, Marcos’ closest electoral rival, during the last day of the campaign period on May 7.

“Both fronts are aware of the political consequences of this declaration, especially in consideration of the extended transition period for the establishment of the Bangsamoro government,” Ebrahim and Sema said in a joint statement.

The MILF’s political party, the United Bangsamoro Justice Party, which Ebrahim also chairs, also earlier endorsed Robredo over Marcos in the May 9 presidential elections.

The MILF and the Philippine government signed the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) in 2014 after 17 years of negotiations.

The CAB’s centerpiece is the creation of a new Bangsamoro region, which was realized in 2019 with the ratification of Republic Act 11054 or the Organic Law for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).

The BARMM is composed of the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi and the cities of Marawi, Lamitan and Cotabato, and 63 villages from six town in North Cotabato known as the Special Geographic Area of the Bangsamoro.

For the first time, the MILF fielded local candidates and openly supported bets seeking national positions during the May 9 polls. (Bong S. Sarmiento / MindaNews)