Duterte calls on voters to vote for BOL in Cotabato campaign sortie

COTABATO CITY -- President Rodrigo Duterte was surprisingly silent on the opposition of certain sectors to the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) when he campaigned for its ratification here Friday.Anti-BOL groups have been noisy since Friday night about Duterte’s not specifically prodding voters here and in Isabela City, the former capital of Basilan, to vote in favor of the BOL during the plebiscite for its ratification on Monday.They also questioned why Duterte did not call on members of the ruling Tan family in Sulu, led by the former governor of the island province, Hadji Abdusakur, to turnaround from their hardline stance against the BOL.Mayors Cynthia Guiani-Sayadi and Vice Mayor Cherrylyn Akbar of the cities of Cotabato and Isabela, respectively, are both campaigning against the measure, also known as the Republic Act 11054. Mga Moro bumoto kayo ng `yes’ pag hindi, hindi na ako mag punta dito kailanman , Duterte said in one of his many adlibs as he read a message while at the Shariff Kabunsuan Cultural Complex here, venue of the campaign for the ratification of the BOL.Pro-BOL political leaders and peace activists told this news outfit after Duterte’s sortie here that ended at about 7and00 p.m Friday that, as president, there was no need for him to talk about the opposition to the BOL by certain sectors. Being the father of this nation, we are all his children. Respect for a father is a strong culture among us. So how can we not support a good initiative of a father? His message implied that he wants all sectors to support the BOL, Maguindanao Gov. Esmael Mangudadatu told reporters.Mangudadatu and his younger sibling, Freddie, themayor of Mangudadatutown and president of the 36-member league of mayors in Maguindanao, separately told reporters late Friday that they are sure of an overwhelming yes vote for the BOL on Monday from voters in the province.Mangudadatu said all of the 36 mayors in Maguindanao, which has two congressional districts, are for the BOL.Maguindanao, a component province of ARMM, is a bastion of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Its main headquarters is in Camp Darapanan in Sultan Kudarat town in the first district of the province.Once ratified, the BOL shall pave the way for the replacement of the now 29-year Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) with a Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, or BARMM.Duterte repeatedly called on residents in the core territory of BARMM to exercise on Monday their right of suffrage conscientiously. My Moro brothers and sisters, vote yes for the BOL, Duterte said.Bobby Benito, director of ARMM’s Regional Reconciliation and Unification Commission, said Monday Duterte’s campaign message was rational enough. There was nothing wrong with him not having asked people opposing the BOL to change their minds because there is no doubt the `yes’ vote will triumph on January 21, Benito said.Benito said as president, Duterte will avoid driving a wedge that could further fragment his constituents with different political convictions. Para sa amin, malinaw na ayaw niyang mag-away-away ang mga tao niya. We don’t have problem with his discourse. His call for a `yes’ vote was an instruction to the Muslims, Christians and Lumads, not an appeal for mercy, Benito said.The Commission on Elections will administer the January 21 BOL plebiscite in all of ARMM’s 188 towns, in the cities of Isabela and Cotabato and in parts of Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur provinces to determine if voters there are amenable to have their communities grouped together under BARMM.The ARMM covers Maguindanao and Lanao del Sur, where there is strong MILF presence, and the island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi.ARMM Gov. Mujiv Hataman and Lamitan City Vice Mayor Roderick Furigay are cooperating in urging residents of Isabela City to vote in favor of BOL.Hataman’s older sibling, Basilan Gov. Jim Salliman, has also been campaigning there for BOL.All of the municipal mayors in Basilan, known for their political loyalty to the ARMM governor, are also overtly vocal in expressing support for BOL.The wife of Hataman, Sitti Djalia, a candidate for mayor of Isabela City, has also been endorsing BOL, a product of more than 20 years of peace talks between the national government and the MILF.Highly-placed sources in Isabela City, among them key government intelligence officials, on Saturday said no fewer than 30 of the 45 barangay captains there are supporting the candidacy of Mrs. Hataman, a former representative of the Anak Mindanao Party-list.Hataman, whose second term as governor of ARMM shall end on June 30 this year, has persistently been appealing to pro and anti-BOL camps in Isabela City not to let their stances create a deep-seated animosity between them.He said the BOL plebiscite is just a day-long democratic exercise and that both sides should accept its outcome peacefully.In a welcome message during Duterte’s campaign engagement on Friday at the ARMM capitol here, Hataman said he is thankful to Duterte for shepherding the BOL.Hataman said he and members of his regional cabinet are certain that it is a good solution to the now 50-year Moro issue.The figurehead of MILF, Hadji Murad Ebrahim, also spoke during the event about his optimism on the BOL’s ratification on Monday.Ebrahim said the BOL will put closure to the Moro problem hounding southern provinces since the late 1960s.