SHARIFF AGUAK, MAGUINDANAO –– New Maguindanao Gov. Bai Mariam Sangki-Mangudadatu delivered her inaugural address at the provincial gymnasium here Tuesday morning, marking the return of the seat of power to this town after almost a decade.
She also delivered her first state of the province address in the event that was tightly secured by soldiers and policemen.
Sangki-Mangudadatu, who entered the gymnasium here around 11 a.m., is the first elected female governor of Maguindanao, a province saddled by poverty due to the decades-long Moro rebellion.
Sangki-Mangudadatu made good her campaign promise to hold office here and not in Buluan town, where a P500-million capitol was built by outgoing three-term governor Esmael Mangudadatu and unveiled by President Duterte only earlier this year.
Sangki-Mangudadatu’s predecessor used to govern Maguindanao province from his hometown Buluan due to security concerns after assuming the post in 2010.
Mangudadatu succeeded the late Andal Ampatuan, Sr., the alleged mastermind in the infamous 2009 Ampatuan massacre that killed 58 people, including 32 media workers.
Ampatuan abandoned the provincial capitol in Sultan Kudarat town months after he became governor in 2001 after his convoy was allegedly ambushed.
He held office here and built the country’s only provincial capitol with a jacuzzi at the governor’s wing until he fell from power following the grisly massacre also allegedly involving other key members of his family.