Batanes to Tawi-Tawi
with Julmunir I. Jannaral
As I have promised I will tackle in my next Batanes To Tawi-Tawi column particularly about the declaration of Martial Law which I told my former professor at then Mindanao State University-Sulu College of Technology & Oceanography (MSU-SCTO) back in 1972 when the capital town of Bongao was still under the administrative jurisdiction of the Province of Sulu.
Muslim candidates for the Presidency, Senatorial slate are so pathetic not unless we are in federal government.
We have only one (1) Muslim candidate running for President of the Republic of the Philippines in the person of Faisal Mangondato who is running under the political party of Katipunan ng Kamalayang Kayumanggi.
Perhaps he knew all along that even with well oiled machinery is just like an old machine that cannot be started and cannot run as well. I have heard him interviewed by Media and Mangondato was harping on the change of the form of government if he wins as in turning it to federalism.
But his dream of winning an election even after the May 9, 2022 National and Local Elections would still be a dream.
Now let us set aside this Muslim presidential ambition. Personally as a Muslim brother though I don’t know and have not met him in person in my heart I would still like him to win as President. That would be a great honor that the next President of the Philippines is a Muslim.
However, as a Member of the Media for around four (4) decades, I shouldn’t flatter him but rather give him an honest to goodness assessment that a Muslim candidate for President and Muslim candidates for Senators are just but an exercise in futility. This is in comparison to candidates from Luzon and the Visayas who are all well funded and have complete machinery in terms of funding and standby voters as well. Not to under estimate our Muslim candidates for Senators unlike their counterparts from Luzon and the Visayas they cannot afford to pay the millions of pesos of political ads in television. Hence, most of them are merely using the Social Media since this is a free medium.
I am not giving bad vibes to our Muslim candidates but good vibes to all of them. In fact as a sense of belongingness to the same Islamic faith the Philippine Muslim Today has given the Senatoriables Free Ads weekly that we care to publish their Platform of Government.
We know for a fact that winning for them is still a dream. But the PMT-19 Management winning is immaterial for we know for them to be winners have very slim chances.
As to whether they will win or lose is really immaterial to us. What counts most is that we have helped them in our own little way as members of the Fourth Estate rather than we just keep silent and do not lift even a finger to help them.
In a nutshell, our Muslim candidates especially those running for Senators will have fighting chances of winning if the elections for Senators will be done by Regions. Meaning they will just be elected by Region and not yet nationwide as what we are going to do this coming May 9, 2022.
To achieve this, it can be done only when our form of government is already changed to a Federal Form of Government.
Be that as it may, for the benefit of our registered voters from Batanes To Tawi, I would like to mention again the names of the COMELEC-accredited Muslim candidates running for Senators.
For the Muslim male candidates for Senators there are only two (2) candidates in the persons of SHARIFF IBRAHIM ALBANI (SIA) who is running under the Labor Party of the Philippines (LPP) or the Workers and Peasants Party. SIA is with COMELEC No. 2 and being supported by thousands of members of World Philosophical Forum (WPF) of the Philippines where he is also the Chairman, and by his thousands of fraternity brothers in the Alpha Kappa Rho (AKRho) nationwide; and ROBIN PADILLA who is being endorsed by President Rodrigo Roa Duterte himself. Robin who is now a Balik Islam has also a Muslim name of Abdul Aziz. As a Muslim himself, many Muslims and Balik Islam members are supporting his candidacy. He is with COMELEC No. 49 in the official ballots.
The three Muslim women candidates for Senators are NUR-MAHAL KIRAM. She is being supported by the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo (Sabah). Her late father is Sultan Mahakuttah Kiram by her mother Princess Meriam Kiram.
She is also the Sister of the reigning Sulu Sultan Muedzul-Lail Tan Kiram. Notably the Royal Family of Sulu particularly the Kiram lineage have signified to give 100 percent full support to the candidacy of Nur- Mahal.
Dr. Dayang-Dayang Sh-vethlana Kiram, who is the daughter of the late Sultan Esmail Daluz Kiram II told this Columnist that she is mobilizing all the Royal Families of Sulu including Mindanao and Palawan to give full support to the candidacy of Nur- Mahal Kiram.
To those subscribers in the Facebook, Nur-Mahal Kiram is popularly known in her Facebook Account as Princess Light Kiram as originated from her real name as Nur that means Light and Mahal or Love. She is dubbed also as Princessang May Malasakit.
Nur-Mahal Kiram has a COMELEC No. 36 in the Official Ballot.
The last two Muslim women candidates are Princess Lady Anne Sahidulla of Sulu. Lady Anne as she is popularly called is not only a Singer but has an extensive experience in local government units (LGUs). She first started as Municipal Mayor of the Municipality of Banguingui (Tongkil), then she was elected as the Vice Governor of Sulu, and finally she became as Congresswoman or Representative of the 2nd Congressional District of Sulu.
Apart from having a wide experience in LGUs, Princess Lady Anne has also the full support of the Royal Princes and Princesses of Tubuh Panabuan in Indanan, Sulu.
According to Datu Colonel Ahiyal Sappayani and Datu Colonel Julmin Tapsirul the Royal families of Tubuh Panabuan where Princess Lady Anne came from are actually the descendants of the fierce Datu figured in the Bud Daho Massacre.
And now PRINCESS LADY ANNE SAHIDULLA tries her luck to run for the 2nd time as Senator of the Republic of the Philippines. She is running under the political party of Pederalismo ng Dugong Dakilang Samahan. She has COMELEC No. 55 in the Official Ballot.
The last but not the least is also a 2nd timer in the Senatorial Slate. She is SAMIRA GUTOC of Marawi City, Lanao del Sur. She is running as the official candidate of Aksyon Demokratiko. She has COMELEC No. 32 in the Official Ballot.
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For your Comments & Suggestions, please send an email to: julmunir1845@gmail.com. Cellphone No. +639778430218.
PHILIPPINE MUSLIM TODAY 