COTABATO CITY — With the Bangsamoro’s first parliamentary elections just weeks away, residents, local officials and Moro datu supporting Bangsamoro Parliament Member Kadil Sinolinding Jr. are calling for a heavy security presence at polling places to prevent fraud and intimidation.
The supporters are asking the 6th Infantry Division, the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region and the Commission on Elections to keep a close watch on schools and other voting centers ahead of the September 14 Bangsamoro parliamentary elections.
They made the appeal Sunday, August 23, through news reporters in Cotabato City and nearby provinces, asking that their message be relayed to Army Brig. Gen. Ricky Bunayog, commander of the 6th ID; Brig. Gen. Christopher Abecia, director of PRO-BAR; and BARMM Commission on Elections regional director Ray Sumalipao.
The group said it supports the efforts of the military, police and Comelec to ensure that the elections in the Bangsamoro Special Geographic Area (SGA) are clean, peaceful and free from electoral fraud.
But with political stakes running high, they want security forces to make sure voters can cast their ballots without pressure or interference.
Sinolinding, a physician and ophthalmologist better known as “Doc Jojo” in the eight municipalities of the Bangsamoro SGA in Cotabato, is both a member of the 80-seat Bangsamoro Parliament and minister of the BARMM Ministry of Health.
He is one of five candidates seeking the parliamentary seat for the 2nd District of the Bangsamoro SGA, which covers the newly established municipalities of Old Kaabakan, Kapalawan, Malidegao, and Ligawasan.
His supporters are also pointing to his record of medical missions in the four municipalities.
According to municipal and barangay officials and members of Sinolinding’s public service teams in the Parliament and the BARMM Ministry of Health, 5,019 residents have received medical treatment through his missions since President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed him to the Bangsamoro Parliament in 2022.
The medical missions have included treatment for various illnesses as well as cataract and pterygium surgeries.
Local executives and residents of Old Kaabakan, Kapalawan, Malidegao and Ligawasan who are openly campaigning for Sinolinding said their support should not come at the expense of a credible election.
They stressed that the September 14 vote must be free, clean and peaceful, with voters allowed to choose their candidates without fear or interference.
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