MANILA, Philippines – A member of the Hataman political clan filed his certificate of candidacy for a seat in the Bangsamoro parliament in Basilan on Monday, November 4.
Abrar Hataman, a nephew of Basilan Governor Jim Hataman-Salliman and Representative Mujiv Hataman, the last governor of the now-defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), is seeking to represent one of the province’s three parliamentary districts in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
The BARMM parliamentary districts are different from Basilan’s lone congressional district, which is currently represented in the Lower House by Abrar’s uncle Mujiv.
Abrar’s father, Juhan, is a brother of both the governor and the congressman. He was born and raised in Basilan.
A Yakan from Sumisip, Abrar said he would participate in BARMM’s first regional elections scheduled for May 2025 to bring fresh perspective in improving education, health care, and livelihood programs in Basilan’s 3rd parliamentary district and elsewhere in the Bangsamoro region.
He filed his COC on the same day the Commission on Elections (Comelec) opened the filing period in the region on Monday, marking a step toward the region’s first parliamentary election since the BARMM replaced the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in 2019.
Candidates have until November 9 to submit their COCs and declarations of intent for the parliamentary race in the Muslim-majority region.
The inaugural BARMM parliamentary election is scheduled for May 2025, simultaneously with national and local midterm elections. Elected members will then choose the region’s first elected chief minister.
The Bangsamoro parliament will include party, district, and sectoral representatives. However, a Supreme Court (SC) ruling in September removed Sulu from the BARMM. Sulu was supposed to have seven reserved seats in the BARMM’s 80-member parliament.
According to the Comelec, three seats are allocated to Basilan, four to Tawi-Tawi, eight to Lanao del Sur, including one for Marawi, four each to Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur, and two to Cotabato City. – Rappler.com
