2 ‘powerful’ women eyeing mayoralty post in Isabela City

ISABELA CITY, Basilan — Sitti Djalia Turabin Hataman, the wife of Mujiv Hataman, the incumbent governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said she has reluctantly accepted the challenge to run as mayor of this city.

She will run against against Chrrylyn Akbar, the incumbent vice mayor and widow of late Basilan Governor Wahab Akbar.

Akbar had earlier negotiated with her stepson, Al Quaid Akbar, the incumbent mayor, to allow her to run for mayor.

Hataman, who preferred to use her maiden name Turabin, told reporters here that village leaders and their respective supporters consider her as the remaining “option” of the voting populace.

“If I will not win, it’s Okay. I am not afraid to lose. I am afraid to win, winning means great responsibility and I hope I can serve my people well,” said Turabin, a native of Isabela City, who married Hataman from the town of Sumisip.

Turabin, an Anak Mindanao (Amin) Partylist Representative before she stepped down in October 2017, has been known for her stand against the death penalty and the imposition of martial law, as well as her vote favoring the Reproductive Health Law.

In a statement she also shared on social media, Turabin said she expects other political camps to question her decision to run for a local elective position.

“Today I accept defeat. I plead guilty for dishonoring my words and for failing to stand my ground on what I believe in, as far as this electoral process is concerned,” she said.

“I am here to offer myself as an option. I am not here to challenge anyone or claim I can do better, for I have nothing to show and have never been in this position. I am only here as an alternative to what Isabela City has now, and for the last decades. For those who are contented with this, Alhamdulillah. I have no intention to change your mind. I am only here for those who say, we want something else,” she said. /ee