Marcos vows peace and order in historic Bangsamoro polls

MANILA, Philippines – The first Bangsamoro parliamentary election in September will be peaceful and credible, said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday, July 27 – a promise to the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) electorate that has waited long enough for the much-delayed polls. “Comelec, law enforcement, volunteers, deputized agencies, and all stakeholders are now ready to ensure that this defining political exercise will be peaceful, orderly, and credible,” Marcos said in his State of the Nation Address (SONA). Marcos called the election “a critical accomplishment under the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro.” In the September polls, the Bangsamoro people will elect an 80-member parliament who will then select among themselves the new chief minister. The interim Bangsamoro government is currently led by Abdulraof Macacua who was present in Batasan during Marcos’ fifth SONA. Recently, the President appointed peace adviser Mel Senen Sarmiento as concurrent head of the government peace implementing panel with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. For Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman George Garcia, the President’s mention of the Bangsamoro polls in the SONA signals that the election is set to finally take place in September. The election period and gun ban in the region officially started mid-July. ‘First in political history’ Marcos also touted in his SONA the awarded petroleum service contracts in the Bangsamoro which marks the first co-management service contracts in the country. “This is the first time in our political history,” Marcos said. “BARMM is now firmly set to pursue its strategic vision of energy security and total electrification for and in the Bangsamoro region.” The contracts cover areas in the Sulu Sea, according to the BARMM’s Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources, and Energy. “The winning service contractor is a four-way joint venture between an Australian company, a British company, and two Filipino-owned firms,” the ministry said. “Their partnership signals international trust in the promise of BARMM and its role in the Philippines’ sustainable development.” These are two out of the total 14 contracts the government awarded across the country. – Rappler.com