By Ali G. Macabalang
COTABATO CITY – The Misuari-led founding bloc of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) formally registered Monday, June 24 with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) for official accreditation as a political party in the May 2025 inaugural election of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) parliament.
Incumbent Members of Parliament (MPs) Abdulkarim Misuari and Randolph Parcasio, son and legal adviser of the MNLF founding chieftain, respectively, filed the necessary documents before the Comelec-regional office here and immediately held a press conference.
MPs Misuari and Parcasion, Mahardika party chairman and secretary-general, respectively, took turns in explaining the platforms and imminent activities of their political group, which they said has the blessing of the MNLF founding chieftain and central committee.
He clarified that their party decides collectively on the question of allying with other regional parties already accredited for the parliament election, notably the leading blocs of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front’s (MILF’s) United Bangsamoro Justice Party (UBJP) and the Bangsamoro Grand Coalition (BGC).
The Mahardika party will not be swayed by the opinions of one person, MP Misuari said when asked to comment on an earlier claim by Sulu Gov. Sakur Tan that the MNLF founding chair had committed support to the BGC. Tan’s claim was reportedly corroborated by Misuari’s daughter, also an incumbent MP, who attended a BGC assembly.
But Ustaz Murshi Ibrahim, who was also seen in the BGC assembly, refuted the claim politely by saying that MNLF national leaders will have to decide yet on which party they would support in next year’s parliament election.
On the question of establishing an alliance, the Mahardika party chairman said they abide by the mandate of Prophet Mohammad (s.a.w.), who prescribed for Muslims to engage with “companions” in an earlier “journey.”
Parcasio, a lawyer and former executive secretary of the defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) governance under Regional Governor Misuari then, presented to the media the Mahardika party’s platforms, which include a pursuit of spiritual enhancement in governance, an intensive agriculture, a relevant quality education.
He said they would promote a kind of education development where college graduates will be able to promptly land jobs upon completion of school studies in a fashion that will break the agony of joblessness after graduation.
Fragmentation
The Mahardika is the second MNLF political body registered for the 1st regional parliament election in 2025. The first to get accredited was the Bangsamoro Party (BaPa) of former Cotabato City Mayor Muslimin Sema, who heads an MNLF faction born out of the so-called “Council of 15” during the advent of the Arroyo administration.
Sema, who currently heads the BARMM’s Ministry of Labor and Employment, has so far been silent also on the question of a possible alliance with the two bigger political groups – the UBJP and BGC. But his current membership in the cabinet of BARMM Chief Minister Ahod “Hadji Murad” Ebrahim will likely lead to an alliance with the UBJP chaired by the latter, political pundits said.
Another point of fragmentation in the MNLF force, according to local analysts, is the stance of Professor Duma Sani and some fellow MNLF “Top 90” members, officially affiliated with the BGC.
Sani, a former MP during the Duterte government, and his comrades were recruited by the Al Ittihad-UKB Party led by former Sultan Kudarat governor and now TESDA Director General Sukarto “Teng” Mangudadatu, the titular head of the BGC.
Al Ittihad-UKB has formed the BGC with other regional parties - the SIAP of Lanao del Sur Vice Governor Mujam Adiong and father-Governor Bombit Adiong, the Salam Party of Sulu Gov. Tan, and the Bangsamoro People’s Party of Basilan Rep. Mhujiv Hataman.
Mangudadatu, who had earlier expressed interest in the position of BARMM chief minister, has also been able to get followers from disgruntled members of the MILF, who belong to a so-called “Salamat Wing.” His political stance had shifted when the BGC decided recently to endorse Gov. Tan as its contender for the chief minister post.
Resident voters will elect in the 2025 BARMM polls eighty (80) members of the regular parliament, 40 of them via partylist-type voting, and 32 by districts. The remaining eight parliament members will be chosen as representatives of youth, women, indigenous peoples and settlers, traditional leaders, and ulama blocs by the respective sectors. (AGM)
PHILIPPINE MUSLIM TODAY 