ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Mindanao devider United Bangsamoro party-backed clans emerge victorious

United Bangsamoro party-backed clans emerge victorious

Published May 14, 2025 09:47 pm
DAVAO CITY – Political clans backed by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front-led United Bangsamoro Justice Party emerged as winners in the May 12 elections in the provinces of Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur, which are part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
GOV. Datu Ali Midtimbang (left), MILF Chairman Ahod Ebrahim (center), and Vice Gov. Ustadz Hisham Nando (UBJP) 
On Wednesday afternoon, the Provincial Board of Canvassers proclaimed Datu Tucao Mastura as the first elected governor of Maguindanao del Norte after trouncing Datu Teng Mangudadatu.
Mastura, mayor of Sultan Kudarat town, earned 199, 049 votes against Datu Teng's 76,260, or a difference of 122,787.
The 78-year-old governor-elect's roots can be traced to the royal families in the then undivided Maguindanao. Datu Teng's family ruled the undivided province since 2010.
Mangudadatu is a cousin of former Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu who led the province from 2010 to 2019 after the fall of the Ampatuan clan in 2009.
The province was divided following a plebiscite in 2022.
Mastura’s running mate Marshall Sinsuat also topped his rival and relative Bai Ainee Sinsuat, former vice governor of Maguindanao del Norte.
Marshall, the outgoing mayor of Datu Blah Sinsuat, garnered 198,233 votes while Ainee got 72,461 or a difference of 125,762.
The Sinsuats are among the well-entrenched political clans in Maguindanao provinces. However, relationships among clan members recently soured due to misunderstandings in local politics.
On Tuesday afternoon, the PBC proclaimed Datu Ali Midtimbang as the first elected governor of Maguindanao del Sur.
Midtimbang, who earned 177,162 votes, defeated acting Gov. Bai Mariam Mangudadatu who had 144,479, or a margin of 32,683.
Canvassers also proclaimed Ustadz Hisham Nando as the first duly elected vice governor of the province after garnering 176,835 votes. Nando topped Datu Benzar Ampatuan who earned 134,066.
Both winners were proclaimed inside the headquarters of the Army’s 6th Infantry Division, the venue of the canvassing, in Barangay Awang, Datu Odin Sinsuat, Maguindanao del Norte.
Midtimbang, who belongs to one of the traditional clans in then undivided Maguindanao province, was a former mayor of Talayan town, Maguindanao del Sur.
Bai Mariam, who also belongs to one of the powerful political families in the province, is the wife of Datu Teng.
Datu Teng is the son of Datu Pax Mangudadatu, a former longtime governor of Sultan Kudarat province.
Sultan Kudarat is currently ruled by Datu Pax Ali Mangudadatu, son of Mariam and Datu Teng.

Related Tags

Maguindanao del Sur Maguindanao del Norte UBJP UBJP BARMM
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.