BARMM’s Ebrahim orders MILF to vote straight UBJP in ‘historic’ Eleksyon 2022

GRAND MOSQUE, Kalanganan, Cotabato City — Chief Minister of the Bangsamoro region Ahod Balawag “Murad” Ebrahim described this year’s election as the most historic for the Bangsamoro people after more than four decades of political and armed struggle, and ordered the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) to vote straight-ticket for the United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP).

“I just want to reiterate to everyone, this is the fruit of our sacrifice. The BARMM is a fruit of our more than 40 years of our struggle; we need to protect this, we invested our lives, blood, sweat and sufferings, and we will win this time,” said Murad, who is also the chairman of both the UBJP and the MILF.

Murad was the guest of honor at the grand proclamation rally of UBJP-Cotabato City held on March 25 at the kick-off of the local campaign period.

UBJP has endorsed the candidacy tandem of Councilor Bruce Matabalao for Mayor and Councilor Johari Butch Abu for Vice Mayor. The latter is the son of the late Toks Abu, most commonly known as Ghadzali Jaafar, who was vice-chairman of MILF for political affairs when he died.

Murad said that they first pushed for a political struggle to address the plight and rights of Bangsamoro people, but ended up in an armed struggle. As a rebel organization before, they agreed and imposed not to join any political activities until a peace deal was signed.

Under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) signed in 2014, part of the normalization program for former combatants is the opportunity for political participation, mainly by registering as voters.

Under the landmark peace deal, the MILF agreed to drop its members' firearms as part of the decommissioning process to lead civilian lives and set up Moro autonomy, giving it greater governance powers, fixed shares in government revenues and ensuring funding support for rehabilitation of war-torn communities.

The decades of war inflicted on the Bangsamoro region and nearby communities in Mindanao has created a huge gap in development compared to other regions in the country.

In the early part of 2015, members of the MILF started on their first step of participation by registering members for the electoral process.

“You want us to succeed in BARMM? The region is our way to make our lives better. We should not be just residents here, we have to ensure our UBJP candidates will win,” Ebrahim told attendees at the grand rally.

He also issued an order to former rebels, their families and supporters.

“As chairman of UBJP, my official order to MILF members is to vote [for] all members of UBJP party,” he said during the finale of his speech.

He explained that the action is the continuation of their revolution.

“If we struggle in the name of Jihad then this is the continuation,” Murad added.

Mohagher Iqbal, the MILF’s former chief negotiator and the UBJP Central Mindanao chairman, said, “We have no other way around except the road to peace. The war has ended, the negotiations have ended, we are here now in the electoral and democratic struggle, we must continue the road to peace.”

Murad emphasized the importance of the outcome of the 2022 elections.

“We will be having an election in 2025. If the local governments by then could not be our allies, we can hardly win the election in the parliamentary form of government,” he said.

The officials of the Bangsamoro Government, who are also members of the MILF, clarified that their presence at the grand rally was part of their duty as members and officers of the UBJP.

The UBJP is the political party of the MILF. — BM, GMA News