COTABATO CITY — The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) will give equal opportunities to other national candidates to present their platforms for the region before deciding who to endorse for the 2022 polls, but its spokesman praised Vice President Leni Robredo’s “substantial knowledge” on the Bangsamoro issues.
Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, spokesman of BARMM and minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government (MILG), said that the “standing policy” of the regional government is to welcome national candidates, hear their platforms, and analyze their positions on the critical Bangsamoro issues.
That’s the only time they can come up with an endorsement of any presidential candidate.
“Meron tayo (We have) internally na napag-usapan kung kailan officially mag-e-endorse. But ‘yung (talked about when to officially endorse. But our) timetable natin dependent doon sa (is dependent on the) opportunity for other national candidates to present para maging patas pa rin ho at objective ‘yong pagpili (for the selection to be fair and objective),” Sinarimbo said.
But he lauded Robredo for her knowledge about the peace agreement in the region, particularly the implementation of the Bangsamoro Organic Law. Robredo was a co-author of the law that established the BARMM.
“So substantial naman ho ‘yong knowledge niya para maging kampante tayo na kaya niyang itulak at ipagpatuloy ‘yong (her knowledge is substantial for us to be comfortable that she can push for and continue the) implementation ng (of the) peace agreement,” the minister added.
Robredo had a closed-door lunch meeting with BARMM chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim and Cabinet members at the BARMM compound in Cotabato City.
This was part of her agenda as she visited the region to meet with supporters and attend people’s rallies for her campaign sorties.
Despite the lack of endorsement from the BARMM, the Vice President is banking on her good relationship with the region that also fueled her win there in 2016.
She remains optimistic about her chances in the region, citing her big wins in Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, and Tawi-Tawi.
She got 464,430 votes in the whole region in 2016 while her closest rival, former Senator Ferdinand Marcos Jr. got 283,579 votes.
Of the five provinces, only Sulu went to Marcos while Robredo said she got more than 220,000 votes in Maguindanao. She obtained 130,486 votes in Lanao del Sur, 77,321 in Basilan, and 42,252 in Tawi-Tawi.