BARMM Parliament member Omar Yasser Sema explains the peace and development objectives of the BaPa Party during the MNLF Ulama Council conference in Cotabato City on Tuesday, as Michael Odin and MNLF Chairman Muslimin Sema listen. (John Unson Photo)
COTABATO CITY β Muslim religious leaders affiliated with the Moro National Liberation Front have thrown their support behind efforts to ensure that the Bangsamoro region’s first parliamentary elections on September 14 are peaceful, orderly and credible.
The call for unity came during a gathering of the MNLF Ulama Council in Cotabato City on Tuesday, September 8, where Islamic missionaries and Muslim preachers from across the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao joined an electoral peace and awareness dialogue.
The meeting was led by MNLF Chairman Muslimin Sema, who also serves as BARMM minister for labor and employment and heads the MNLF’s Bangsamoro Party, popularly known as BaPa Party.
With just days to go before voters head to the polls, Sema and the religious leaders urged political and religious sectors to put peace, good governance and regional development at the center of the historic election.
The September 14 vote will mark a major step in the transition to parliamentary government in the Bangsamoro region, replacing the interim political arrangement that has governed the autonomous territory since the creation of BARMM.
A party with MNLF roots
BaPa Party is among the more than 10 political parties authorized by the Commission on Elections to participate in the parliamentary elections.
Several of the party’s candidates attended Tuesday’s gathering, including lawyer Omar Yasser Sema, an appointed member of the BARMM Parliament; engineer BaiAli Karon; Naguib Solano; and Michael Odin.
Also present was former congresswoman Bai Sandra Sema, the party’s candidate for the fourth parliamentary district seat covering Maguindanao del Norte.
Bai Sandra is regarded by her supporters as one of the political figures who played a key role in the passage of the Bangsamoro Organic Law, the legislation that established the autonomous region.
She pushed for the enabling measure, the Bangsamoro Organic Law, while serving as representative of the former first district of Maguindanao, before the creation of BARMM in 2019.
The former Maguindanao province was later divided into Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur, reshaping the political map of the region.
‘Peace and development’
At the Cotabato City gathering, BaPa candidates outlined what they described as the party’s peace and development objectives, with particular emphasis on political unity, religious solidarity and good governance.
The meeting also became a show of support for efforts by election authorities and security agencies to prevent violence and intimidation during the September 14 vote.
Members of the MNLF Ulama Council expressed their support for initiatives involving the Comelec, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region to maintain peace and order throughout the elections.
The election will cover the five BARMM provinces β Maguindanao del Norte, Maguindanao del Sur, Lanao del Sur, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi β as well as the three cities of Cotabato, Marawi and Lamitan.
For a region that has endured decades of armed conflict and political instability, the stakes extend well beyond the ballot boxes.
The election is intended to help cement a new political system created under the Bangsamoro peace process, making the credibility and peaceful conduct of the vote particularly important.
Religious leaders back BaPa
The Islamic missionaries who attended Tuesday’s dialogue also voiced their support for BaPa Party candidates ahead of the election.
Their backing gives the party an important connection to religious networks across the Bangsamoro, where Muslim preachers and community leaders can play an influential role in shaping public opinion.
But the broader message from the gathering was one of restraint: political competition should not be allowed to threaten the fragile peace that underpins the Bangsamoro transition.
Sema and the Ulama Council members called for solidarity among religious, political and community sectors, stressing that peace and development must go hand in hand with good governance.
With the first Bangsamoro parliamentary elections now only days away, the message from the Cotabato City meeting was unmistakable: political differences may divide candidates, but peace must unite the region.
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