Two Basilan towns named tentative areas of concern in first BARMM elections

Comelec-Basilan photo

ISABELA CITY (MindaNews / 8 May) – The towns of Albarka and Tipo-Tipo in Basilan have been identified as tentative areas of concern in the first ever regional parliamentary elections in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) on September 14 this year, Provincial Election Supervisor Atty. Roberto dela Peña said.

Dela Peña, who cited the presence of armed groups as the basis for the declaration, said he will convene the Joint Peace and Security Coordinating Council on May 18 to discuss security arrangements that will be implemented province-wide.

Dela Peña, however, is confident the elections will be easier to handle compared to the regular elections. “It is only BARMM that will be having an election, meaning, the security sector will be able to focus their attention here.”

But Basilan Governor Mujiv Hataman disagreed with tagging Albarka and Tipo-Tipo as election areas of concern, saying the political exercise is not highly competitive.

“At the same time, there are really no candidates from Tipo-Tipo. There are [candidates] in Albarka, but I think the elections will be peaceful because it’s between parties, and the candidates are mostly friends, and are talking to each other. Even the presence of armed groups, based on experience, has not made the competition intense. This is different compared to the barangay and local elections,” Hataman said in Filipino.

Hataman said he will talk to the candidates of political parties to ensure a healthy competition.

“At the end of the day, this isn’t a competition among the people of Basilan. The competition should be what the representatives of Basilan can bring for the province. Power is in the BARMM and who to support as Chief Minister and what program he can bring to Basilan,” he said.

Security was tight at the old Basilan Capitol as candidates arrived to submit their certificates of candidacy (COCs) on Thursday, the last day of filing.

Among those who filed their COCs on Thursday was Lamitan City Vice Mayor Hegem Furigay for the first parliamentary district of Basilan covering Lamitan City.

Furigay said he decided to accept the offer of Governor Mujiv Hataman to be able to do more for his city and the province as a whole as a member of parliament.

“I was elected as the Bangsamoro People’s Party Vice President for Settlers, so in our meeting, the group decided that I am qualified to be the first ever member of the parliament for Lamitan District. With the current situation of BARMM, alam naman natin na hindi pa talaga stable ang government (we know the government is really not stable yet). Hopefully I can contribute with my experience as a vice mayor and councilor,” Furigay said in an interview after filing his COC.

He said he is confident his supporters in Lamitan will understand his decision to run for the district representative post.

Furigay will be running against three other candidates in the first district, including Verjiv Rajan Abdurahman from the United Bangsamoro Justice Party.

Abdurahman is the deputy commander of the 114th Base Command of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, who in recent years has figured in many clan war settlements and dialogues following misencounters between government forces and MILF members.

Comelec records showed there are 248,248 voters in Basilan who will be casting their votes in over 500 clustered precincts in 11 towns and 1 city. (Queenie Casimiro/MindaNews)